Résumé
In 1995, the Aurora-A kinase was discovered in Drosophila. In 1997, it was found to be overexpressed in breast cancer cell lines. In 1998, the function of the kinase in the assembly of the mitotic spindle was identified as well as its oncogenic activity. These results immediately triggered an intensive search by Big Biopharma for kinase inhibitors to be used in the treatment of cancer.
Overexpression of the kinase is sufficient to transform NIH3T3 cells that induce tumor formation when implanted in nude mice. A more direct relationship between Aurora-A and cancer was discovered in 2006 by demonstrating that its overexpression in the mammary epithelium was sufficient to induce cancer. Aurora-A is then a key cell cycle kinase, whose overexpression induces cancer, making it indeed a good target for the treatment of cancers. A large number of inhibitors have therefore been manufactured and used in clinical trials for the treatment of cancers. However, after 20 years, none has yet managed to pass any phase III. So how can we improve the effectiveness of Aurora-A inhibitors in cancer treatments?