Destabilizing aneuploidy by targeting cell cycle and mitotic checkpoint proteins in cancer cells.

Aneuploidy is one of the major hallmarks of cancer cells and several paths towards aneuploidy have been described. However, the relevance for tumor initiation or progression and how tumors deal with the initial aneuploidy related stress response is still unclear and recent results suggest that aneuploidy can even have tumor suppressive effects under certain conditions. The molecular mechanisms leading to and sustaining growth of aneuploid cells are just at the beginning to be understood and might provide new targets for cancer drug development. We will discuss some of the ideas to specifically kill aneuploid cells by targeting key regulators of mitosis.