The role of PLK1 in refractory cutaneous T-cell lymphomas

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K08673
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 53050:Dermatology-related
• Research Institution: Kochi University
• Principal Investigator: Higuchi Tomonori 高知大学, 教育研究部医療学系基礎医学部門, 講師 (00448771)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 橋田 裕美子 高知大学, 教育研究部医療学系基礎医学部門, 助教 (00767999) ; 大畑 雅典 高知大学, 教育研究部医療学系基礎医学部門, 教授 (50263976)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: PLK1 / ATL

Outline of Final Research Achievements

High expression of polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) is closely associated with the progression of various malignancies. In this study, we demonstrated that PLK1 is highly expressed in tumor cells from patients with aggressive adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL), while the expression levels of PLK1 in tumor cells from patients with indolent ATL is different at the single-cell level. We also found that pharmacological and genetic inhibitions of PLK1 induce cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, and suppress proliferation of ATL cells. Thus, these findings indicate that PLK1 has a key role in the progression of ATL and might prove to be useful for PLK1-targeted therapeutic strategies in refractory cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

Free Research Field

皮膚腫瘍学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

これまで不明であったPLK1発現異常と難治化ATL細胞との関連性とこれに関わる分子を明らかにし、PLK1選択的な阻害薬の治療上の有効性についてその可能性を示した。したがって、国内外で問題となる難治性皮膚T細胞腫瘍の診断・治療におけるPLK1の新たな臨床的意義を示し、PLK1やその関連分子を標的とした治療戦略において有用な情報を提供するものである。