Taxol Resistance and Microtubule Dynamics in Breast Cancer

Abstract

Alterations to microtubule dynamics, leading to a less stable polymer, may be a crucial determinant in the development of resistance towards Taxol, and other drugs with a binding site on the microtubule polymer. We propose that two potential mechanisms by which breast cancer cells could alter their microtubule dynamics are by (1) differential expression of the several alpha and beta tubulin isforms and (2) differential binding of endogenous regulators of microtubule assembly to the cytoskeleton as a result of posttranslational modifications to these tubulin isforms. The overall goal of this proposal is to develop rapid and innovative protein-based technologies for both quantitating the alpha and beta-tubulin isoform composition in drug-sensitive and resistant human breast cell lines, and for characterizing the posttranslational modifications to these isoforms. It is only by thoroughly understanding Taxol resistance in human breast cancer cells that we will be able to develop ways to overcome Taxol resistance in breast cancer.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 2002
Accession Number
ADA407181

Entities

People

  • George A. Orr

Organizations

  • Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Biological Sciences
  • Breast Cancer
  • Cancer
  • Cell Line
  • Cells
  • Chemistry
  • Cytoskeleton
  • Dynamics
  • Liquid Chromatography
  • Mass Spectra
  • Mass Spectrometers
  • Mass Spectrometry
  • Neoplasms
  • Resistance
  • Spectrometry

Fields of Study

  • Biology

Readers

  • Molecular Biology and Genetics
  • Oncology (Cancer Research).