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Taxol®: The First Microtubule Stabilizing Agent

2017; Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute; Volume: 18; Issue: 8 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3390/ijms18081733

1661-6596

Chia‐Ping Huang Yang, Susan Band Horwitz,

Cancer-related Molecular Pathways

Taxol®, an antitumor drug with significant activity, is the first microtubule stabilizing agent described in the literature. This short review of the mechanism of action of Taxol® emphasizes the research done in the Horwitz’ laboratory. It discusses the contribution of photoaffinity labeled analogues of Taxol® toward our understanding of the binding site of the drug on the microtubule. The importance of hydrogen/deuterium exchange experiments to further our insights into the stabilization of microtubules by Taxol® is addressed. The development of drug resistance, a major problem that arises in the clinic, is discussed. Studies describing differential drug binding to distinct β-tubulin isotypes are presented. Looking forward, it is suggested that the β-tubulin isotype content of a tumor may influence its responses to Taxol®.