Molecular modeling of Human Aurora C Kinase in complex with INCENP provides insight into its molecular interactions

Aurora kinases (AK) are the name given to a family of Serine/threonine (Ser/Thr) protein kinases. These proteins represent a novel family of kinases crucial for cell cycle control [1]. Three AK family members have been identified in mammalian cells: A, B, and C, which each share a conserved C- terminal catalytic domain but differ in their sub- cellular localization, substrate specificity, and function during mitosis. These proteins are implicated in several vital events in mitosis. The expression levels of human AK are increased in certain types of cancer including breast, colon, pancreatic and stomach [2-5]. AURKB/AURKC is activated upon binding of INCENP resulting in the phosphorylation of the conserved motif of INCENP[6]. However, compared with the other two Aurora kinases, little is known about the association of AURKC with carcinogenesis and only a few AURKC inhibitors have been developed.