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Kinesin superfamily: roles in breast cancer, patient prognosis and therapeutics

Oncogene volume 37, pages 833–838 (2018)Cite this article

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Abstract

Breast cancer pathobiology is known to be influenced by the differential expression of a group of proteins called the kinesin superfamily (KIFs), which is instrumental in the intracellular transport of chromosomes along microtubules during mitosis. During cellular division, kinesins are strictly regulated through temporal synthesis so that they are present only when needed. However, their misregulation may contribute to uncontrolled cell growth owing to premature sister chromatid separation, highlighting their importance in cancer. This review covers the functions of kinesins in normal and breast cancer cells, the use of kinesins for breast cancer patient prognosis, and the targeting of these molecules for therapeutics. A better understanding of KIF proteins may be pivotal to improved disease outcomes for breast cancer patients.

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Acknowledgements

The technical assistance of SL Bay in the preparation of Figure 1 is deeply appreciated. Work in the laboratory of GW Yip is supported by Grants NMRC/CSA/0041/2012 and NMRC/CIRG/1436/2015 from the National Medical Research Council, Singapore. AJ Lucanus thanks the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for the New Colombo Plan Scholarship. We apologise for the use of review articles and the failure to cite many relevant primary articles as a result of space constraints.

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  1. School of Anatomy, Human Biology and Physiology, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia

    A J Lucanus

  2. Department of Anatomy, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore

    A J Lucanus & G W Yip

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Correspondence to G W Yip.

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Lucanus, A., Yip, G. Kinesin superfamily: roles in breast cancer, patient prognosis and therapeutics. Oncogene 37, 833–838 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/onc.2017.406

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