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Updated: May 30, 2026

A Bilingual Computational Workflow for Identifying Potential PLK1 Inhibitors in American Sign Language and English
Published on: April 3, 2026
Plk1-targeted small molecule inhibitors: molecular basis for their potency and specificity
Ravichandran N Murugan1, Jung-Eun Park, Eun-Hee Kim
1Division of Magnetic Resonance, Korea Basic Science Institute, Ochang 363-883, Korea.
Abstract:
Members of polo-like kinases (collectively, Plks) have been identified in various eukaryotic organisms and play pivotal roles in cell proliferation. They are characterized by the presence of a distinct region of homology in the C-terminal noncatalytic domain, called polo-box domain (PBD). Among them, Plk1 and its functional homologs in other organisms have been best characterized because of its strong association with tumorigenesis. Plk1 is overexpressed in a wide spectrum of cancers in humans, and is thought to be an attractive anti-cancer drug target. Plk1 offers, within one molecule, two functionally different drug targets with distinct properties-the N-terminal catalytic domain and the C-terminal PBD essential for targeting the catalytic activity of Plk1 to specific subcellular locations. In this review, we focused on discussing the recent development of small-molecule and phosphopeptide inhibitors for their potency and specificity against Plk1. Our effort in understanding the binding mode of various inhibitors to Plk1 PBD are also presented.
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