AUTHOR=Tsunematsu Takaaki , Arakaki Rieko , Yamada Akiko , Ishimaru Naozumi , Kudo Yasusei TITLE=The Non-Canonical Role of Aurora-A in DNA Replication JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology VOLUME=5 YEAR=2015 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2015.00187 DOI=10.3389/fonc.2015.00187 ISSN=2234-943X ABSTRACT=

Aurora-A is a well-known mitotic kinase that regulates mitotic entry, spindle formation, and chromosome maturation as a canonical role. During mitosis, Aurora-A protein is stabilized by its phosphorylation at Ser51 via blocking anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome-mediated proteolysis. Importantly, overexpression and/or hyperactivation of Aurora-A is involved in tumorigenesis via aneuploidy and genomic instability. Recently, the novel function of Aurora-A for DNA replication has been revealed. In mammalian cells, DNA replication is strictly regulated for preventing over-replication. Pre-replication complex (pre-RC) formation is required for DNA replication as an initiation step occurring at the origin of replication. The timing of pre-RC formation depends on the protein level of geminin, which is controlled by the ubiquitin–proteasome pathway. Aurora-A phosphorylates geminin to prevent its ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis at the mitotic phase to ensure proper pre-RC formation and ensuing DNA replication. In this review, we introduce the novel non-canonical role of Aurora-A in DNA replication.