Work

New Connections between Old Pathways: PDK1 Signaling Promotes Cellular Transformation through PLK1-Dependent MYC Stabilization

Year: 2013

Type: editorial

Abstract: Limited understanding of the functional link between multiple oncogenic pathways is a major barrier in the ongoing effort of cancer biologists to design an effective therapeutic approach to treat malignancies characterized by driver oncogenic network signals. In this issue of Cancer Discovery, Tan and colleagues elucidate a novel PDK1-PLK1-MYC signaling pathway connecting two fundamental oncogenic programs, phosphoinositide 3-kinase and MYC. They define the functional role for PDK1-PLK1-MYC signaling in cancer cell survival and tumor formation and show the therapeutic benefit of inhibiting PDK1 and PLK1 pharmacologically in cancer, tackling the most undruggable tumors defined by elevated levels of the MYC oncoprotein.

Source: Cancer Discovery

DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.cd-13-0581

Authors: John T. Cunningham, Davide Ruggero

Institutions: University of California, San Francisco, UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center

Language: English

Topic: PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling in cancer

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Cancer Institute