Aurora Kinase

The Aurora kinases comprise a family of evolutionary conserved serine/threonine kinases (Aurora-A, Aurora-B, and Aurora-C). Aurora kinases control multiple events during cell cycle progression and are essential for mitotic and meiotic bipolar spindle assembly and function.

Aurora-A, Aurora-B, and Aurora-C share a highly conserved kinase domain but have quite different subcellular localizations and functions during mitosis. Aurora-A mostly controls centrosome maturation and bipolar spindle assembly, while Aurora-B and Aurora-C are required for condensation, attachment to kinetochores, and alignment of chromosomes during (pro-)metaphase and cytokinesis. In human tumors, all Aurora kinase members play oncogenic roles related to their mitotic activity and promote cancer cell survival and proliferation. Inhibitors targeting Aurora kinases have attracted attention in cancer research.