Figure 6:

AURKA is a viable therapeutic target in cuSCC. A, Correlation analysis of miR-497 and AURKA in human cuSCC tumors. Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r) values and p values are listed. B-C, Kaplan-Meier survival curves from HNSC patients with high vs. low expression of miR-497 (B) and AURKA (C). D-F, COLO16 cells stably expressing nuclear mCherry treated with DMSO vs. alisertib (12nM), incubated with Annexin V-488, and scanned every 6 hours using the Incucyte® high-content live-cell imaging platform. D, Growth curve of COLO16 cells treated with alisertib vs. DMSO. E-F, Immunofluorescence (E) and quantification (F) for annexin V-488 (green)-positive cells following treatment with alisertib or DMSO. G, Final tumor volumes of xenograft mouse models composed of COLO16 cells subcutaneously injected into both flanks of athymic nu/nu mice. Tumor bearing mice were randomized into 2 groups and subsequently treated daily with either vehicle or alisertib (30mg/kg) via oral gavage. Data shown are mean ± SD, n=20 and 26 for vehicle and alisertib treated mice, ** p<0.01, Student’s t test (two-tailed).