Targeting PLK1 and Aurora kinases in medulloblastoma

Introduction: The Kids Cancer Kinome project is focussing on the human protein kinase family in pediatric tumors to identify and validate novel drug targets. We investigated medulloblastomas as most frequent malignant brain tumor. Methods: We analysed the expression profiles (Affymetrix microarrays) of medulloblastoma tumor samples and cell lines. Using small molecules inhibitors and lentiviral particles carrying shRNA we examined the effects on cell proliferation (MTS assay), apoptosis (Caspase-glo assay) and cell cycle (flow cytometry). Results: As promising candidates we identified the overexpressed Plk1 and…