A question of broad importance in cellular neurobiology has been, how is microtubule cytoskeleton of the axon organized? It is of particular interest because of the history of conflicting results concerning the form in which tubulin is transported in the axon. While many studies indicate a stationary nature of axonal microtubules, a recent series of experiments reports that microtubules are rec...

Vinblastine is a vinca alkaloid that binds to tubulin and inhibits microtubule formation in cells. Vinblastine treatment results in the formation of paracrystalline aggregates in the cells, which are formed from tightly packed tubulin molecules. Mitotic spindle assemblies in treated cells are disrupted and cell cycle progression is arrested at the mitosis phase. Vinblastine is therefore widely ...

Purified calf brain tubulin has been induced to self-aggregate in vitro into paracrystalline structures by the anti-cancer drug vinblastine. The size, shape, optical birefringence, and drug stoichiometry of these tubulin-vinblastine paracrystals are similar to those of paracrystals formed in vivo. Similar structures can be formed with vincristine and desacetylvinblastine, but not with colchicin...

Crocin, a component of saffron spice, is known to have an anticancer activity. However, the targets of crocin are not known. In this study, crocin was found to inhibit the proliferation of HCC70, HCC1806, HeLa and CCD1059sk cells by targeting microtubules. Crocin depolymerized both the interphase and mitotic microtubules of different cancer cells, inhibited mitosis and induced multipolar spindl...

A number of vinca alkaloids, including vincristine, vinblastine, and vinorelbine, are currently used in cancer chemotherapy. These three vinca alkaloids interact differently with a range of solid and hematologic tumors. To test the possibility that the tubulin isotype composition is an important determinant in antineoplastic efficacy, we determined thermodynamic parameters for vinca alkaloid in...

The Escherichia coli cell division protein FtsZ was expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells, where it formed a striking array of dots that were independent of the mammalian cytoskeleton. Although FtsZ appears to be a bacterial homolog of tubulin, its expression had no detectable effects on the microtubule network or cell growth. However, treatment of the cells with vinblastine at concentration...

Tubulin isotype distribution may play a role in the development of anti-cancer anti-tubulin drug resistance as well as in drug efficacy and specificity. Stepwise selection was used to establish non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) H460 cells resistant to combretastatin A-4 (CA4), paclitaxel or vinblastine. The results demonstrated that the rate of CA4 drug resistance development was slower tha...

The colchicine-binding assay was used to quantitate the tubulin concentration in unfertilized Strongylocentrotus purpuratus eggs and to characterize pharmacological properties of this tubulin. Specificity of colchicine binding to tubulin was demonstrated by apparent first-order decay colchicine-binding activity with stabilization by vinblastine sulfate, time and temperature dependence of the re...