Scientific article
Review
OA Policy
English

Forcing dividing cancer cells to die; low-dose drug combinations to prevent spindle pole clustering

Published inApoptosis, vol. 26, no. 5-6, p. 248-252
Publication date2021
Abstract

Mitosis, under the control of the microtubule-based mitotic spindle, is an attractive target for anti-cancer treatments, as cancer cells undergo frequent and uncontrolled cell divisions. Microtubule targeting agents that disrupt mitosis or single molecule inhibitors of mitotic kinases or microtubule motors kill cancer cells with a high efficacy. These treatments have, nevertheless, severe disadvantages: they also target frequently dividing healthy tissues, such as the haematopoietic system, and they often lose their efficacy due to primary or acquired resistance mechanisms. An alternative target that has emerged in dividing cancer cells is their ability to "cluster" the poles of the mitotic spindle into a bipolar configuration. This mechanism is necessary for the specific survival of cancer cells that tend to form multipolar spindles due to the frequent presence of abnormal centrosome numbers or other spindle defects. Here we discuss the recent development of combinatorial treatments targeting spindle pole clustering that specifically target cancer cells bearing aberrant centrosome numbers and that have the potential to avoid resistance mechanism due their combinatorial nature.

Keywords
  • Cancer
  • Centrosome clustering
  • Drug combination
  • Mitosis
Citation (ISO format)
DUCREY, Eloise et al. Forcing dividing cancer cells to die; low-dose drug combinations to prevent spindle pole clustering. In: Apoptosis, 2021, vol. 26, n° 5-6, p. 248–252. doi: 10.1007/s10495-021-01671-3
Main files (1)
Article (Published version)
Identifiers
ISSN of the journal1360-8185
154views
60downloads

Technical informations

Creation25/08/2021 15:28:00
First validation25/08/2021 15:28:00
Update time16/03/2023 01:13:49
Status update16/03/2023 01:13:48
Last indexation02/10/2024 07:11:41
All rights reserved by Archive ouverte UNIGE and the University of GenevaunigeBlack