The Impact of Centrosome Abnormalities on Breast Cancer Development and Progression with a Focus on Targeting Centrosomes for Breast Cancer Therapy

Abstract

AbstractNew research on the role of centrosomes in cancer cell proliferation has led to significant new insights into the multiple functions of this important organelle that serves not only as microtubule-organizing center (MTOC) in interphase and mitosis but also as important cellular communication center for signal transduction pathways and metabolic activities. Cancer cell centrosomes are distinguished from centrosomes in noncancer cells by specific abnormalities that include phosphorylation abnormalities, overexpression of centrosomal proteins, abnormalities in centriole and centrosome duplication, formation of multipolar spindles that play a role in aneuploidy and genomic instability, and several others that are highlighted in this chapter. Because of their critical role in cancer cell proliferation, several lines of research have started to target centrosomes for therapeutic intervention to inhibit abnormal cancer cell proliferation and control tumor progression. While many aberrant mechanisms leading to centrosome dysfunctions are common to all tumor types, there are specific abnormalities observed in breast cancer that will be reviewed in the present chapter in which breast cancer-specific therapies will also be discussed.KeywordsPrimary CiliumSpindle Assembly CheckpointCentrosome AmplificationCentrosomal ProteinCentrosome DuplicationThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.