The Ser/Thr protein kinase encoded by this gene belongs to the CDC5/Polo subfamily. It is highly expressed during mitosis and elevated levels are found in many different types of cancer. Depletion of this protein in cancer cells dramatically inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptosis, hence, it is a target for cancer therapy.,PLK1,PLK,STPK13,Epigenetics & Nuclear Signaling,Cancer,Signal Transduction,Kinase,Serine/threonine kinases,Cell Biology & Developmental Biology,Cell Cycle,Centrosome,G2/M DNA Damage Checkpoint,PLK1