Aurora B: A New Prognostic Marker and Therapeutic Target in Cancer

G.      Portella; C.      Passaro; P.      Chieffi

Abstract

Aurora B is a serine-threonine kinase belonging to the highly conserved Aurora family of mitotic kinases. Aurora B is a chromosomal passenger protein involved in chromosome segregation, spindle-checkpoint, and cytokinesis. Alteration of each of these steps could induce aneuploidy, one of main features, and driving force of cancer progression. The overexpression of Aurora B has been observed in several tumor types, and has been linked with a poor prognosis of cancer patients. In this review we will focus on the role of Aurora B in cancer development, its role as a prognostic marker, and the clinical outcome of recently developed Aurora(s) inhibitors.

Keywords: Aurora kinase, Aurora B, serine-threonine kinase, mitosis, cytokinesis, cancer, inhibitors, Prognostic Marker, Therapeutic Target, aneuploidy, centrosome, chromosome, Testis Zinc Finger Protein (Tzfp), anaphase-promoting complex, phosphorylation, Cromosomal Passenger Complex, kinetochores, prometaphase, Survivin, INner CENtromere Pro-tein (INCENP), Histone Kinase, Tetrahymena thermophila, S. pombe, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Drosophila, C. elegans, Xenopus, Spindle Checkpoint Kinase, microtubule-depolymerizing kinesin MCAK, Mi-totic Centromere-Associated Kinesin, Benzimidazoles, Cytokinesis Kinase, carcinoma, mesothelioma, glioblastoma, oral cancer, malignant en-dometrium, hepatocellular carcinoma, testicular germ, thyroid, colon, prostate, neoplastic lesions, Aurora Inhibitors, HESPERADIN, indolinone, chronic mye-loid leukemia (CML), acute lymphocytic leukemia