Targeting the cell-cycle machinery for cancer therapy

Yunhua Peng1, Jiejing Liu2, Hiroyuki Inuzuka3

  • 1Department of Urology, First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, China; School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China.

Trends in Cell Biology
|September 26, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Cell cycle dysregulation drives cancer. New therapies targeting cell cycle vulnerabilities, including CDK4/6 inhibitors and protein degradation, offer precision oncology strategies to combat cancer effectively.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

Background:

  • The cell cycle is crucial for genomic stability during cell proliferation.
  • Dysregulation of cell cycle checkpoints and proteogenomic oscillations can lead to oncogenic transformation.
  • The cell cycle is a key target in precision oncology due to its role in cancer development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review emerging mechanistic insights into cell cycle dysregulation in tumorigenesis.
  • To highlight novel therapeutic strategies targeting cell cycle machinery.
  • To discuss the role of proteomic and post-translational dynamics in cancer therapy.

Main Methods:

  • Review of recent advances in cell cycle research.
  • Analysis of proteomic and post-translational modifications in cell cycle regulation.
  • Exploration of emerging therapeutic strategies like targeted protein degradation and synthetic lethality.

Main Results:

  • Aberrant cell cycle phase transitions, orchestrated by proteomic and post-translational dynamics, are disrupted in cancers.
  • Targeting CDK4/6 is a cornerstone therapy, but resistance is a significant challenge.
  • Emerging strategies and biomarker-driven approaches enhance therapeutic efficacy against cell cycle vulnerabilities.

Conclusions:

  • Understanding cell cycle aberrations provides critical insights into tumorigenesis.
  • Novel therapeutics targeting cell cycle machinery hold promise for effective cancer treatment.
  • Precision medicine approaches exploiting cell cycle vulnerabilities are transforming cancer therapy.

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