Program in Developmental Therapeutics, Fox Chase Cancer Center, W406, 333 Cottman Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19111, USA.
Cell Mol Life Sci. 2013 Feb;70(4):661-87. doi: 10.1007/s00018-012-1073-7. Epub 2012 Aug 3.
Temporally and spatially controlled activation of the Aurora A kinase (AURKA) regulates centrosome maturation, entry into mitosis, formation and function of the bipolar spindle, and cytokinesis. Genetic amplification and mRNA and protein overexpression of Aurora A are common in many types of solid tumor, and associated with aneuploidy, supernumerary centrosomes, defective mitotic spindles, and resistance to apoptosis. These properties have led Aurora A to be considered a high-value target for development of cancer therapeutics, with multiple agents currently in early-phase clinical trials. More recently, identification of additional, non-mitotic functions and means of activation of Aurora A during interphase neurite elongation and ciliary resorption have significantly expanded our understanding of its function, and may offer insights into the clinical performance of Aurora A inhibitors. Here we review the mitotic and non-mitotic functions of Aurora A, discuss Aurora A regulation in the context of protein structural information, and evaluate progress in understanding and inhibiting Aurora A in cancer.
时空调控 Aurora A 激酶(AURKA)的激活可调节中心体成熟、进入有丝分裂、形成和功能的双极纺锤体以及胞质分裂。Aurora A 的基因扩增和 mRNA 及蛋白过表达在许多类型的实体瘤中很常见,并与非整倍体、多余的中心体、有缺陷的有丝分裂纺锤体和抗凋亡有关。这些特性使得 Aurora A 被认为是癌症治疗药物开发的高价值靶点,目前有多种药物处于早期临床试验阶段。最近,在有丝分裂间期神经突伸长和纤毛吸收过程中发现了 Aurora A 的其他非有丝分裂功能和激活方式,这极大地扩展了我们对其功能的理解,并可能为 Aurora A 抑制剂的临床疗效提供线索。在这里,我们综述了 Aurora A 的有丝分裂和非有丝分裂功能,讨论了 Aurora A 在蛋白结构信息背景下的调控,并评估了在理解和抑制癌症中的 Aurora A 方面的进展。