Aurora kinase A (AURKA)
Aurora kinase A (AURKA) is a serine/threonine kinase encoded by the AURKA gene and is a critical regulator of mitotic progression in mammalian cells.
Aurora kinase A (AURKA) is a serine/threonine kinase encoded by the AURKA gene and is a critical regulator of mitotic progression in mammalian cells. It localizes to the centrosome and mitotic spindle, where it orchestrates centrosome maturation, bipolar spindle assembly, and accurate chromosomal segregation during cell division. Beyond its canonical mitotic functions, AURKA participates in a range of non-mitotic processes including DNA damage response, regulation of transcription factor activity, and cellular stress adaptation. Dysregulation of AURKA — most commonly through gene amplification or protein overexpression — is observed across a broad spectrum of human malignancies, including breast, colorectal, head/neck, melanoma, ovarian, liver, and prostate tumors, establishing it as both an oncogenic driver and a high-priority therapeutic target.
Structurally, AURKA contains an N-terminal regulatory domain and a C-terminal catalytic kinase domain. Its activity is tightly controlled through phosphorylation at Thr288 and interaction with co-activators such as TPX2. In oncological contexts, AURKA overexpression promotes tumor progression through multiple mechanisms: driving genomic instability, sustaining proliferative signaling via pathways including Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Protein kinase B (PKB)/mTOR, suppressing tumor suppressors such as PTEN, and interacting with oncoproteins such as MYCN. This multifaceted oncogenic role, combined with its well-defined ATP-binding pocket, has made AURKA an attractive focus for small-molecule inhibitors and, more recently, targeted protein degradation strategies.
Where the papers sit
10 papers from the last 6 months study Aurora kinase A (AURKA) directly · updated from PubMed 3 Oct 2026
Study type 0 clinical trials · 2 human data · 4 preclinical · 4 unclassified
Themes 3 themes · 1 paradigm shift · 1 new direction
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AURKA in Liver Cancer
AURKA-directed therapy in hepatocellular carcinoma is moving from molecular signatures toward mechanistically selected vulnerabilities. RB1 loss, TRIP13 co-inhibition, and AURKA-driven exosomal miR-644a identify routes to synthetic lethality, DNA damage, pyroptosis, apoptosis, or immune suppression. Quercetin and other multitarget agents remain largely preclinical, supported by multi-omics, cell, and animal studies. Biomarker-guided validation and clinical translation remain open.
5 papers · 50%
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AURKA Targeted Protein Degradation
AURKA drug discovery is shifting from inhibition toward selective proteolysis-targeting chimeras. CRBN-recruiting degraders, including CT3, show subtype selectivity and in vivo activity, with superior effects to inhibition reported in hematological malignancies. CAM2602 and related ligands support optimization of potency and selectivity. AURKA interactions with DICER and SETD2 also connect degradation to S-phase control, but therapeutic biomarker definition remains open.
3 papers · 30%
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Kinase-Targeted Therapeutics
Small-molecule kinase strategies are moving toward combination efficacy and targeted degradation. A triazole-dithiocarbamate hybrid sensitizes anaplastic large cell lymphoma to cytarabine, while norbornene-based HyT profiling expands kinase-degradation discovery. The evidence remains early and chemically heterogeneous. Whether these approaches improve selectivity and overcome drug resistance remains open.
2 papers · 20%
AURKA degradation, rather than catalytic inhibition alone, is required to overcome the limitations of AURKA-directed therapy
The CT3 study in Jurkat hematological-malignancy cells and the M9101 study in MD-MB-231 breast-cancer cells challenge the assumption that ATP-site inhibition is sufficient to control AURKA. Both instead support selective protein degradation as a way to remove AURKA and suppress functions that inhibitors leave intact: CT3 showed greater antiproliferative activity than its parental inhibitor, while M9101 achieved potent, highly selective AURKA depletion and was designed to probe noncatalytic kinase biology. The therapeutic frame therefore shifts from inhibiting AURKA catalytic activity to eliminating the whole protein, including noncatalytic functions 42466758Jul 42214088May.
AURKA is a nuclear S-phase scaffold that organizes DICER- and SETD2-dependent responses to transcription-replication conflicts
The AURORA A interactome study in proliferating cells identifies a role beyond the mitotic kinase functions used by the other papers. It found that AURKA forms an RNA-dependent nuclear complex with DICER and affects SETD2 chromatin association, with degradation causing profound S-phase defects rather than the G2/M arrest produced by catalytic inhibition. This assigns AURKA a previously unrepresented scaffolding and genome-maintenance role in S phase, linking it to R-loop-associated RNA processing and suppression of spurious transcription 42380670Jul.
Papers
The 10 papers from the last 6 months that study Aurora kinase A (AURKA) directly, newest first, by theme and by study type. Study types come from PubMed publication types and MeSH headings.
By theme
AURKA in Liver Cancer (5)
- Biallelic loss of RB1 in hepatocellular carcinoma as synthetic lethal target for artificial intelligence-guided therapy. Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 19 Aug 2026 PMID 42618565
- Multi-omics and pan-cancer analysis revealed common molecular signatures to disclose multitargeted anticancer agents through network pharmacology approach. PloS one · 1 Jun 2026 PMID 42224282
- Aurora A-Mediated Exosomal Secretion of miR-644a Promotes T-Lymphocyte Apoptosis Through the NOXA/p4E-BP1/MCL-1 Pathway. Clinical and experimental pharmacology & physiology · 27 May 2026 PMID 42203488
- Integrative bioinformatics and experimental validation reveal quercetin as a potential multi-target therapeutic agent in hepatocellular carcinoma. Cytotechnology · 18 May 2026 PMID 42145839
- Dual Inhibition of TRIP13 and Aurora A Induces Mitotic DNA Damage and Concurrent Pyroptotic-Apoptotic Cell Death in Rb-Deficient Cancer Cells. Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research · 21 Apr 2026 PMID 42013305
AURKA Targeted Protein Degradation (3)
- Discovery of a Highly Subtype-Selective AURKA PROTAC Degrader (CT3) with Superior Activity to the Inhibitor for Hematological Malignancies. Journal of medicinal chemistry · 17 Jul 2026 PMID 42466758
- AURORA A interacts with DICER and SETD2 to promote S-phase progression. EMBO reports · 1 Jul 2026 PMID 42380670
- Discovery of a Potent, Selective and In Vivo Active Aurora A PROTAC Degrader from a Promiscuous Kinase Inhibitor. Journal of medicinal chemistry · 29 May 2026 PMID 42214088
Kinase-Targeted Therapeutics (2)
- A novel triazole-dithiocarbamate hybrid synergistically enhances cytarabine efficacy and selectivity in anaplastic large cell lymphoma. Bioorganic chemistry · 12 May 2026 PMID 42119208
- Large-Scale Profiling of Kinase Degradation by Using Norbornene-Based Hydrophobic Tag (HyT) Strategy. Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English) · 20 Apr 2026 PMID 42007494
By study type
Human data, design not indexed (2)
- Multi-omics and pan-cancer analysis revealed common molecular signatures to disclose multitargeted anticancer agents through network pharmacology approach. PloS one · 1 Jun 2026 PMID 42224282
- Large-Scale Profiling of Kinase Degradation by Using Norbornene-Based Hydrophobic Tag (HyT) Strategy. Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English) · 20 Apr 2026 PMID 42007494
Preclinical: animal, cell and lab studies (4)
- Biallelic loss of RB1 in hepatocellular carcinoma as synthetic lethal target for artificial intelligence-guided therapy. Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 19 Aug 2026 PMID 42618565
- Aurora A-Mediated Exosomal Secretion of miR-644a Promotes T-Lymphocyte Apoptosis Through the NOXA/p4E-BP1/MCL-1 Pathway. Clinical and experimental pharmacology & physiology · 27 May 2026 PMID 42203488
- A novel triazole-dithiocarbamate hybrid synergistically enhances cytarabine efficacy and selectivity in anaplastic large cell lymphoma. Bioorganic chemistry · 12 May 2026 PMID 42119208
- Dual Inhibition of TRIP13 and Aurora A Induces Mitotic DNA Damage and Concurrent Pyroptotic-Apoptotic Cell Death in Rb-Deficient Cancer Cells. Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research · 21 Apr 2026 PMID 42013305
Unclassified: not yet indexed with MeSH (4)
- Discovery of a Highly Subtype-Selective AURKA PROTAC Degrader (CT3) with Superior Activity to the Inhibitor for Hematological Malignancies. Journal of medicinal chemistry · 17 Jul 2026 PMID 42466758
- AURORA A interacts with DICER and SETD2 to promote S-phase progression. EMBO reports · 1 Jul 2026 PMID 42380670
- Discovery of a Potent, Selective and In Vivo Active Aurora A PROTAC Degrader from a Promiscuous Kinase Inhibitor. Journal of medicinal chemistry · 29 May 2026 PMID 42214088
- Integrative bioinformatics and experimental validation reveal quercetin as a potential multi-target therapeutic agent in hepatocellular carcinoma. Cytotechnology · 18 May 2026 PMID 42145839
Written from 10 PubMed abstracts, each one listed by PMID above. Published: 2026-06-15. Last written: 2026-08-26 by GPT. Drafted by language models from published abstracts; not medical advice.