AURKA inhibition shows promise as a therapeutic strategy for ARID1A-mutant colorectal cancer

Mutations in ARID1A frequently occur in colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. However, there are currently no clinical treatment options specifically addressing this aberration. The preliminary in vitro experiments revealed a synthetic lethal interaction between ARID1A and Aurora kinase A (AURKA) in colorectal cancer (CRC) cells.

We collected samples from 80 CRC patients and evaluated the efficacy of AURKA inhibitor (AURKAi) using the ATP-tumor chemosensitivity assay (ATP-TCA) on untreated ARID1A-proficient (ARID1A +) and ARID1A-deficient (ARID1A-) CRC patient samples. In addition, we validated this result by a clonogenic assay. Additionally, we examined the effects of AURKA inhibitors on cell cycle progression and apoptosis in ARID1A + and ARID1A- CRC patient samples using flow cytometry.

The results showed that AURKAi selectively inhibited the growth of ARID1A- CRC cells. Furthermore, AURKA inhibitors significantly increased G2/M arrest and induced apoptosis in ARID1A- cells.

We believe that AURKAi hold promise as potential therapeutics for ARID1A mutation colorectal cancer patients.