Taxol is a chemotherapeutic drug which acts by stabilizing microtubules, preventing normal mitosis and resulting in a block of the cell cycle at G2 and M. The drug is isolated from the yew, Taxus sp. l.., and is currently being evaluated in a series of Phase II and Phase III clinical trials. Taxol blocks cells in the most radiosensitive phases of the cell cycle and thus could act as a cell cycl...

Taxol is a highly effective anticancer agent that causes peripheral neuropathy as its major toxic side effect. The neuropathy is characterized by degeneration of sensory axons that may be severe enough to be dose limiting. Axonal degeneration involves the activation of the calcium-activated proteases calpains, and here we tested whether systemic inhibition of calpains with the peptide alpha-ket...

Taxol, a diterpenoid plant product that enhances the polymerization of tubulin, is currently entering clinical trials in the treatment of human leukemia. In order to develop an in vitro assay to predict tumor sensitivity to taxol, human leukemic cell lines were exposed to clinically achievable concentrations of taxol for relevant exposure periods. Changes in microtubules visualized by indirect ...

Tubulin polymerization into microtubules is a dynamic process, with the equilibrium between growth and shrinkage being essential for many cellular processes. The antineoplastic agent taxol hyperstabilizes polymerized microtubules, leading to mitotic arrest and cytotoxicity in proliferating cells. Using a sensitive filtration-calorimetric assay to detect microtubule nucleating activity, we have ...

Bcl-2, an antiapoptotic protein, protects cells against many but not all forms of apoptosis. For example, Bcl-2 does not protect non-neuronal cells against taxol, a microtubule-stabilizing agent. The underlying mechanism for the ineffectiveness of Bcl-2 against taxol has been the subject of intense interest. Data from non-neuronal cells indicate that taxol-induced apoptosis requires activation ...

Taxol is a promising agent for use in ovarian cancer and other malignancies. One problem associated with taxol is its low aqueous solubility, requiring Cremophor EL (polyethoxylated castor oil) and ethanol as excipients (Diluent 12); these agents cause serious adverse effects. Liposomes containing taxol and phospholipid (in a 1:33 mole ratio, respectively) were prepared from phosphatidylglycero...

Recently, three natural products have been identified, the epothilones, eleutherobin, and discodermolide, whose mechanism of action is similar to that of Taxol in that they stabilize microtubules and block cells in the mitotic phase of the cell cycle. In this report, we have compared and contrasted the effects of these new agents in Taxol-sensitive and -resistant cell lines. We also have taken ...

Although the ability of Taxol to stabilize cellular microtubules is well accepted, the mechanisms by which Taxol induces growth arrest and cell death remain unclear. Recent evidence indicates that Taxol alters specific intracellular signal transduction events, such as the activation of Raf-1 kinase, that may be essential for drug-induced apoptosis. To determine whether Raf-1 kinase activation o...

Taxanes are widely known as great family of antitumor compounds. Identification of certain taxanes, particularly taxol, has opened new perspectives for further researches in plant and medical sciences. The aim of the present study was to manipulate chromatographic method in order to detect and quantified novel trace taxanes in suspension-cultured hazel (Corylus avellana L.) cells. A rapid growi...