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¹ Arizona Cancer Center and Departments of ² Molecular and Cellular Biology and ³ Pathology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

Requests for Reprints: Daniel D. Von Hoff, Arizona Cancer Center, University of Arizona, 1515 North Campbell Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85724. Phone: (520) 626-7925; Fax: (520) 626-6898. E-mail: dvonhoff{at}azcc.arizona.edu

Aurora-2 is a serine threonine kinase that associates with the centrosome. Overexpression or ectopic expression of Aurora-2 appears to alter centrosome number and function and has been implicated in a variety of human cancers. In this work, we demonstrate that Aurora-2 is both amplified and overexpressed in human pancreatic cancer cell lines, with a 2–5-fold increase in gene copy number and a 3–4-fold increase in protein levels compared with controls. Aurora-2 is also amplified and overexpressed in pancreatic cancers taken directly from patients. An immunohistochemistry of tissues taken directly from patients demonstrated an overexpression of Aurora-2 in 26 of 28 pancreatic cancers compared with 18 normal pancreas samples. Antisense nucleotides specifically targeted at Aurora-2 arrest the cell cycle in pancreatic cancer cells, indicating the potential of Aurora-2 as a therapeutic target in pancreatic cancer.

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Received 4/10/03; revised 1/20/04; accepted 1/27/04.