Aurora Kinases New Molecular Targets for the Therapy of Aggressive Biology Diagrams The three human homologues of Aurora kinases (A, B and C) are essential for proper execution of various mitotic events and are important for maintaining genomic integrity. Aurora-A is mainly As described above, there are three classes of aurora kinases in multicellular organisms, including humans: Aurora A (a.k.a. Aurora 2) functions during prophase of mitosis and is required for correct duplication and separation of the centrosomes (the microtubule organising centres in eukaryotic cells). Aurora A activity is positively-regulated by the spindle protein TPX2, [4] [5] and has Abstract. Aurora kinases, which have been implicated in several vital events in mitosis, represent a protein kinase family highly conserved during evolution. The activity of Aurora kinases is delicately regulated, mainly by phosphorylation and degradation. Deregulation of Aurora kinase activity can result in mitotic abnormality and genetic instability, leading to defects in centrosome function
Abstract. Aurora kinases, a family of serine/threonine kinases, consisting of Aurora A (AURKA), Aurora B (AURKB) and Aurora C (AURKC), are essential kinases for cell division via regulating mitosis especially the process of chromosomal segregation. Besides regulating mitosis, Aurora kinases have been implicated in regulating meiosis. Aurora kinases, which have been implicated in several vital events in mitosis, represent a protein kinase family highly conserved during evolution. During mitosis, Aurora kinases regulate the structure and function of the cytoskeleton and chromosomes and the interactions between these two at the kinetochore. They also regulate signalling by
Aurora kinases: novel therapy targets in cancers Biology Diagrams
Aurora kinases are serine/threonine kinases essential for the onset and progression of mitosis. Aurora members share a similar protein structure and kinase activity, but exhibit distinct cellular and subcellular localization. AurA favors the G2/M transition by promoting centrosome maturation and mitotic spindle assembly. AurB and AurC are chromosome-passenger complex proteins, crucial for These inhibitors obstruct Aurora kinases, which in turn leads to aberrant mitosis. As a result, the p53-dependent checkpoint is activated and results in the induction of a G1-like cell-cycle arrest. Several small-molecule inhibitors of Aurora kinases, such as VX-680, PHA-739358 and AZD-1152, have shown anti-cancer effects in preclinical and For this reason the Aurora kinases are potential targets in the treatment of cancer. In this review we discuss the biology of these kinases: structure, function, regulation and association with cancer. Methods and results: A literature search. Conclusion: Many of the multiple functions of mitosis are mediated by the Aurora kinases. Their
