Mitosis entails mechanistic changes required for maintaining the genomic integrity in all dividing cells. The process is intricate and temporally and spatially regulated by the ordered series of activation and de-activation of protein kinases. The mitotic kinases ensure the stepwise progression of entry into mitosis after the G2 phase of the cell cycle, followed by prophase, pro-metaphase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase, and subsequently cytokinesis and birth of two daughter cells with equal segregation and distribution of the genome. The major mitotic kinases include cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1), Aurora A and B Kinases, and Polo-Like-Kinase 1 (PLK1), among others. Overexpression of some of these kinases has been reported in many cancers as the mitotic fidelity and genome integrity are interlinked and dependent on these regulators, the native irregularities in these factors can be targeted as therapeutic strategies for various cancers. Here, we report and summarize the recent updates on the literature describing the various mitotic inhibitors targeting kinases, which can be used as potential therapeutic interventions for gastrointestinal cancers including gastric cancer, liver cancer, pancreatic cancer and colorectal cancer.

The biology of aging is focused on the identification of novel pathways that regulate the underlying processes of aging to develop interventions aimed at delaying the onset and progression of chronic diseases to extend lifespan. However, the research on the aging field has been conducted mainly in animal models, yeast, Caenorhabditis elegans and cell culture. Thus, it is unclear to what extent this knowledge is transferable to humans since they might not reflect the complexity of aging in people. Organoid culture is an in vitro 3D cell-culture technology that reproduces the physiological and cellular composition of the tissues and/or organs. This technology is being used in the cancer field to predict the response of a patient-derived tumor to a certain drug or treatment serving as patient stratification and drug-guidance approaches. Modeling aging with patient-derived organoids has a tremendous potential as a preclinical model tool to discover new biomarkers of aging, to predict adverse outcomes during aging and to design personalized approaches for prevention and treatment of aging-related diseases and geriatric syndromes. This could represent a novel approach to study chronological and/or biological aging paving the way to personalized interventions targeting the biology of aging.