The research progress of Aurora-B kinase and its inhibitors

Aurora-B as an important kinase to adjust the cell normal mitosis is a potent target for cancer treatment.  Aurora-B is overexpressed in a broad range of tumor and tumor cells are more sensitive while Aurora-B is inhibited.  Due to the key role of the Aurora-B in cell mitosis, the development of its inhibitors is becoming more and more important.  Several small molecules inhibit with a similar efficacy both Aurora-A and Aurora-B, however, in most cases the effects resemble Aurora-B disruption by genetic methods, indicating that Aurora-B represents an effective therapeutic target.  There were several Aurora-B kinase inhibitors which had entered the clinics and displayed good antitumor activity.  In this review, we will outline the functions of Aurora kinase B in normal cell division and in malignancy.  We will focus on recent preclinical and clinical studies that have explored the mechanism of action and clinical effect of Aurora-B inhibitors in cancer treatment.