The Polo-like kinases (PLK) are Ser/Thr kinases of the cell cycle that are involved in regulating mitotic entry, mitotic exit, spindle formation, cytokinesis, and meiosis [1,6]. PLK inhibitors are predicted to offer anti-proliferative potential for application in oncology [7,10].

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2. Beria I, Bossi RT, Brasca MG, Caruso M, Ceccarelli W, Fachin G, Fasolini M, Forte B, Fiorentini F, Pesenti E et al.. (2011) NMS-P937, a 4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazolo[4,3-h]quinazoline derivative as potent and selective Polo-like kinase 1 inhibitor. Bioorg Med Chem Lett, 21 (10): 2969-74. [PMID:21470862]

3. Emmitte KA, Adjabeng GM, Adjebang GM, Andrews CW, Alberti JG, Bambal R, Chamberlain SD, Davis-Ward RG, Dickson HD, Hassler DF et al.. (2009) Design of potent thiophene inhibitors of polo-like kinase 1 with improved solubility and reduced protein binding. Bioorg Med Chem Lett, 19 (6): 1694-7. [PMID:19237286]

4. Gilmartin AG, Bleam MR, Richter MC, Erskine SG, Kruger RG, Madden L, Hassler DF, Smith GK, Gontarek RR, Courtney MP et al.. (2009) Distinct concentration-dependent effects of the polo-like kinase 1-specific inhibitor GSK461364A, including differential effect on apoptosis. Cancer Res, 69 (17): 6969-77. [PMID:19690138]

5. Mason JM, Lin DC, Wei X, Che Y, Yao Y, Kiarash R, Cescon DW, Fletcher GC, Awrey DE, Bray MR et al.. (2014) Functional characterization of CFI-400945, a Polo-like kinase 4 inhibitor, as a potential anticancer agent. Cancer Cell, 26 (2): 163-76. [PMID:25043604]

6. Sana S, Keshri R, Rajeevan A, Kapoor S, Kotak S. (2018) Plk1 regulates spindle orientation by phosphorylating NuMA in human cells. Life Sci Alliance, 1 (6): e201800223. [PMID:30456393]

7. Schöffski P. (2009) Polo-like kinase (PLK) inhibitors in preclinical and early clinical development in oncology. Oncologist, 14 (6): 559-70. [PMID:19474163]

8. Steegmaier M, Hoffmann M, Baum A, Lénárt P, Petronczki M, Krssák M, Gürtler U, Garin-Chesa P, Lieb S, Quant J et al.. (2007) BI 2536, a potent and selective inhibitor of polo-like kinase 1, inhibits tumor growth in vivo. Curr Biol, 17 (4): 316-22. [PMID:17291758]

9. Zhang Q, Xia Z, Mitten MJ, Lasko LM, Klinghofer V, Bouska J, Johnson EF, Penning TD, Luo Y, Giranda VL et al.. (2012) Hit to Lead optimization of a novel class of squarate-containing polo-like kinases inhibitors. Bioorg Med Chem Lett, 22 (24): 7615-22. [PMID:23103095]

10. Zhao Y, Wang X. (2019) PLK4: a promising target for cancer therapy. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol, 145 (10): 2413-2422. [PMID:31492983]