Regulation of the mitotic Kinase

Allosteric regulation of the mitotic Polo-like Kinase 1 (PLK1) during development

USIAS Fellow: Izabela Sumara
Post-doc: Stéphane Schmucker

Mitotic division insures organism reproduction and development. However, the spatio-temporal coordination of the mitotic and developmental pathways is still poorly understood. Phosphorylation and ubiquitination pathways are tightly connected during mitosis. Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) is one of the key mitotic kinases and attractive cancer drug target. Our data described a coherent model of PLK1 activation by phosphorylation and inactivation by ubiquitination. We want to understand the allosteric mode of regulation of PLK1 kinase during mitosis and in the development of multicellular organism. The unique combination of approaches in human cells and in the developing worm will be used. These studies may help future desing of novel class of kinase inhibitors and in the long term understanding regulation of other protein kinases.