Aurora kinase inhibitor ZM447439 induces apoptosis via mitochondrial pathways.

ZM447439 (ZM) is a potent and selective inhibitor of aurora-A and -B kinase with putative anti-tumoral activity. Inhibitors of aurora kinases were shown to induce apoptosis in vitro and in vivo. To investigate the underlying mechanisms, cell death pathways triggered by ZM was analysed in HCT-116 colorectal cancer cells.

A variant affecting a putative miRNA target site in estrogen receptor (ESR) 1 is associated with breast cancer risk in premenopausal women.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) negatively regulate expression of target transcripts by hybridization to complementary sites of their messenger RNA targets. Chen et al. have described several putative functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in miRNA target sites.