Aurora inhibitor (original) (raw)

Aurora kinase inhibitors are a putative drug class for treating cancer. The Aurora kinase enzymes could be potential targets for novel small-molecule enzyme inhibitors. Aurora kinases regulate cell cycle transit from G2 through cytokinesis, and thus are targets in cancer therapy. There are three mammalian aurora kinase genes, encoding aurora A, B and C. Intense investigation has focused on aurora A and B as they appear to play a role in oncogenesis with aurora A identified as a low penetrance tumor susceptibility gene in mice and humans.