Review
Centrosome-associated regulators of the G2/M checkpoint as targets for cancer therapy
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* Corresponding author: Wei Zhang wzhang@mdanderson.org
1 Tianjin General Hospital, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300052, PR China
2 Department of Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
Molecular Cancer 2009, 8:8 doi:10.1186/1476-4598-8-8
Published: 13 February 2009Abstract
In eukaryotic cells, control mechanisms have developed that restrain cell-cycle transitions in response to stress. These regulatory pathways are termed cell-cycle checkpoints. The G2/M checkpoint prevents cells from entering mitosis when DNA is damaged in order to afford these cells an opportunity to repair the damaged DNA before propagating genetic defects to the daughter cells. If the damage is irreparable, checkpoint signaling might activate pathways that lead to apoptosis. Since alteration of cell-cycle control is a hallmark of tumorigenesis, cell-cycle regulators represent potential targets for therapy. The centrosome has recently come into focus as a critical cellular organelle that integrates G2/M checkpoint control and repairs signals in response to DNA damage. A growing number of G2/M checkpoint regulators have been found in the centrosome, suggesting that centrosome has an important role in G2/M checkpoint function. In this review, we discuss centrosome-associated regulators of the G2/M checkpoint, the dysregulation of this checkpoint in cancer, and potential candidate targets for cancer therapy.