Protein kinases aurora, centrosome amplification, aneuploidy, and cancers

A hundred years ago, Théodore Boveri predicted that mitotic abnormalities could induce chromosome instabilities and lead to cancer. Indeed, each daughter cell must inherit a single centrosome and a strictly diploid genome upon exit from mitosis. Abnormal mitosis often leads to aneuploid cells containing on aberrant number of centrosomes, two properties considered as a cancer signature. Most of the mechanisms controlling mitosis are finely regulated by phosphorylation reactions assumed by several families of mitotic protein kinases. The aurora family which includes the three human serine/threonine kinases (aurora-A, -B and -C) is implied in chromosome segregation and cytokinesis. Those three proteins ore overexpressed in a large number of tumours characterised by an aneuploidy and a centrosome amplification. Among those three kinases, only aurora-A is actually oncagenic.