Aurora kinases as an anti-cancer target

The Aurora family of serine/threonine kinases plays an important role in chromosome alignment, segregation and cytokinesis during mitosis. Recent studies have found aberrant expression of Aurora kinases in a variety of human solid tumors and hematological malignancies, suggesting they have a role in carcinogenesis. This review highlights the function of Aurora kinases in the regulation of mitosis and presents the rationale for these kinases as an anti-cancer target. I also review recently developed inhibitors of Aurora kinases. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.