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Review
. 2009 Dec;21(6):796-805.
doi: 10.1016/j.ceb.2009.09.008.

Making the Auroras glow: regulation of Aurora A and B kinase function by interacting proteins

Mar Carmena  1 , Sandrine Ruchaud, William C Earnshaw
Affiliations
Review

Making the Auroras glow: regulation of Aurora A and B kinase function by interacting proteins

Mar Carmena et al. Curr Opin Cell Biol. 2009 Dec.

Abstract

The conserved Aurora family of protein kinases have emerged as crucial regulators of mitosis and cytokinesis. Despite their high degree of homology, Aurora A and B have very distinctive localisations and functions: Aurora A associates with the spindle poles to regulate entry into mitosis, centrosome maturation and spindle assembly; Aurora B is a member of the Chromosomal Passenger Complex (CPC) that transfers from the inner centromere in early mitosis to the spindle midzone, equatorial cortex and midbody in late mitosis and cytokinesis. Aurora B functions include regulation of chromosome-microtubule interactions, cohesion, spindle stability and cytokinesis. This review will focus on how interacting proteins make this functional diversity possible by targeting the kinases to different subcellular locations and regulating their activity.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of Aurora A and Aurora B in mitotic HeLa cells.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The major regulators of (A) Aurora A and (B) Aurora B kinases. Protein kinases are indicated in red and phosphorylation events by red arrows. Protein phosphatases are indicated in blue.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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