Aurora A and B Kinases - Targets of Novel Anticancer Drugs

Silvana      Libertini; Antonella      Abagnale; Carmela      Passaro; Ginevra      Botta; Giuseppe      Portella

Abstract

The Aurora Kinases are highly related serine-threonine kinases, essential for accurate and equal segregation of genomic material during mitosis. A large number of studies have linked the aberrant expression of Aurora kinases to cancer, leading to the development of specific Aurora kinases inhibitors. Several small molecules inhibit with a similar efficacy both Aurora A and Aurora B, however, in most cases the effects resemble Aurora B disruption by genetic methods, indicating that Aurora B represents an effective therapeutic target. These drugs are currently under preclinical or clinical evaluation and are reviewed in this article. The relevant patents are discussed.

Keywords: Aurora kinase, Aurora B, serine-threonine kinase, mitosis, cytokinesis, cancer, inhibitors

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