The Role of Aurora Kinases in Human Colorectal Cancer


Sarı S., Ozsoy E. R.

6th International Eurasian Conference on Biological and Chemical Sciences , Ankara, Turkey, 11 - 13 October 2023, pp.130

  • Publication Type: Conference Paper / Summary Text
  • City: Ankara
  • Country: Turkey
  • Page Numbers: pp.130
  • Abdullah Gül University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) was the third most common cancer worldwide in 2020 and the second leading cause of cancer deaths. Although the common treatment strategy for CRC is chemotherapy; toxicity, acquired resistance and low tumor-specific selectivity are still the main impediments to current clinical success. In recent years, it has been stated that changes in the cellular expression levels of specific proteins with roles in checkpoint pathways through carcinogenesis such as cell cycle regulators contribute to malignant phenotypes, making them as possible therapeutic targets for cancer therapy. Among these proteins, one group of cell cycle regulators is Aurora Kinases (AURKs) which contains three members: Aurora Kinase A (AURKA), Aurora Kinase B (AURKB), and Aurora Kinase C (AURKC). While AURKA and AURKB are expressed in most somatic cells, AURKC is limited to meiotic cells. AURKs are belonging to the family of serine/threonine kinases that serve as mitotic regulators with an important role in various stages of the cell cycle such as centrosome separation and maturation, kinetochore-microtubule interaction, regulation of cytoskeletons, spindle-assembly checkpoint, completion of cytokinesis and chromosome compaction. The overexpression of AURKs is evident in numerous different human cancers or solid tumors, including colorectal cancer, which is associated with its clinicopathological parameters and overall survival time. Therefore, Aurora Kinase inhibition is a potent anticancer strategy and there are many selective and pan Aurora Kinase Inhibitors (AKIs) on different phases of clinical development. In preclinical studies, AKIs have exhibited promising results by showing antiproliferative activity and their ongoing Phase-I and Phase-II clinical trials as anticancer molecules have also yielded in encouraging results for future studies.