Aurora A plays a dual role in migration and survival of human glioblastoma cells according to the CXCL12 concentration

Primary glioblastoma is the most frequent human brain tumor in adults and is generally fatal due to tumor recurrence. We previously demonstrated that glioblastoma-initiating cells invade the subventricular zones and promote their radio-resistance in response to the local release of the CXCL12 chemokine. In this work, we show that the mitotic Aurora A kinase (AurA) is activated through the CXCL12–CXCR4 pathway in an ERK1/2-dependent manner. Moreover, the CXCL12–ERK1/2 signaling induces the expression of Ajuba, the main cofactor of AurA, which allows the auto-phosphorylation of AurA.