REVIEW article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1602752
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Molecular Mechanisms and Therapeutic Implications of Protein Kinase Inhibitors in Cancer TherapyView all 5 articles
PLK1 in Cancer Therapy: A Comprehensive Review of Immunomodulatory Mechanisms and Therapeutic Opportunities
Provisionally accepted
- 1Shandong Provincial Hospital, Jinan, China
- 2Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong Province, China
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PLK1 plays a crucial role in cell cycle regulation and cancer development, and its dysregulation has been implicated in the prognosis of a variety of malignancies. The potential of PLK1 inhibitors as cancer therapeutics has been extensively investigated.However, the underlying biology and mechanisms of PLK1 remain incompletely understood. In recent years, numerous studies have demonstrated that PLK1 overexpression is associated with resistance to certain chemotherapeutic agents, while its inhibition can enhance the efficacy of chemotherapy. In addition, PLK1 inhibitors have been shown to selectively target cancer cells as radiation sensitizers and exert synergistic effects in combination immunotherapy. The underlying mechanisms may involve the regulation of multiple immune cells and inflammatory factors, as well as alterations in the tumor microenvironment, ultimately influencing tumor genesis, migration, and invasion. Moreover, PLK1 can regulate the expression of immune checkpoint-related proteins, thereby playing a synergistic role in cancer therapy. Furthermore, PLK1 represents a promising target antigen for cancer immunotherapy, with potential applications in optimizing cancer vaccines. Therefore, this review focuses on the applications and underlying mechanisms of PLK1 in tumor immunotherapy, aiming to provide new insights for improving patient outcomes and prognosis.
Keywords: Cancer, plk1, Inflammation, immune checkpoint inhibitors, Cancer Vaccines
Received: 30 Mar 2025; Accepted: 02 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Zhao, Wang, Pan, Luan and Fu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Fang Luan, Shandong Provincial Hospital, Jinan, China
Guobin Fu, Shandong Provincial Hospital, Jinan, China
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