Polo takes the bait: A better 'mousetrap' discovered in fruit flies might stop a human cancer-driving kinase in its tracks
Wednesday, March 13, 2013 - 12:00
in Biology & Nature
A seemingly obscure gene in the female fruit fly that is only active in cells that will become eggs has led researchers to the discovery of a atypical protein that lures, traps, and inactivates the powerful Polo kinase, widely considered the master regulator of cell division. Its human homolog, Polo-like kinase-1 (Plk1), is misregulated in many types of cancer.