Background: Ensuring genetic integrity is essential during the cell cycle to avoid aneuploidy, one of the underlying causes of malignancies. Aurora kinases are serine/threonine kinase that play a vital role in maintaining the genomic integrity of the cells. There are three forms of aurora kinases in the mammalian cells, which are highly conserved and act together with several other proteins to control chromosome alignment and its equal distribution to daughter cells in mitosis and meiosis.
Methods: We provide here a detailed analysis of Aurora B kinase (ABK) in terms of its expression, structure, function, disease association and potential therapeutic implications.
Results: ABK plays an instrumental in mitotic entry, chromosome condensation, spindle assembly, cytokinesis, and abscission. Small-molecule inhibitors of ABK are designed and synthesized to control cancer progression. A detailed understanding of ABK pathophysiology in different cancers is of great significance in designing and developing effective therapeutic strategies.
Conclusion: In this review, we have discussed the physiological significance of ABK followed by its role in cancer progression. We further highlighted available small-molecule inhibitors to control the tumor proliferation and their mechanistic insights.
Keywords: Aneuploidy; Aurora kinase; Cancer therapeutics; Cell cycle regulation; Small molecule inhibitors.