Aurora kinases represent a novel family of serine/threonine kinases. They have been identified as key regulators of the mitotic cell division process, and play a role in cell transformation and tumorigenesis Three members of this kinase family have been identified so far, referred to as Aurora-A, Aurora-B and Aurora-C kinases. They are close homologues of the prototypic yeast Ipll and Drosophila aurora kinases, which are known to be involved in the regulation of centrosome function, bipolar spindle assembly and chromosome segregation processes. Expression of Aurora kinases is elevated in human cancer cells.

 Chromosome Condensation