Claude Prigent

Protein phosphorylation reactions are carried out in a cell by protein kinases, which predominantly use ATP as a phosphate donor that is transferred and covalently bound to an amino acid on a substrate protein. Protein phosphorylation was discovered in 1954 by Edmond Fischer who shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology in 1992 with Edwin Krebs. There are so many kinases that one was called "Just Another Kinase" for JAK kinase. Their counterpart is protein phosphatases that remove phosphates from phosphorylated proteins. Kinases and phosphatases act as switches in the cell that activates or inactivates protein functions. These reactions are reversible; the cell can quickly react to a situation but can then go back to its initial state.

Protein Phosphorylation

David M. Glover

Ignacio Pérez de Castro

Mar Carmena

Aurora kinases are key mitotic regulators that have also been associated with tumor development and progression. The interest on this highly conserved family of protein kinases has grown exponentially since they were discovered in the 1990s. Despite the steady increase in the number of laboratories involved and the consequent boost of the volume of research output during the last years, the study of Aurora kinases remains a very dynamic area in which new discoveries frequently keep coming to light. In this Frontiers Research Topic, we have aimed to not only review and revisit different aspects of the functions and regulation of Aurora kinases but also provide a forum for the publication of new developments in the field. Thanks to the excellent work of the authors and reviewers of this eBook, which includes some of the most experienced voices in the field, we hope that this collection will inspire new research projects that will lead to a better understanding of the role of these kinases in cancers.

Claude Prigent

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