Introduction to Paclitaxel | From Tree to Taxol | Paclitaxel and Cancer Treatment | Inside Paclitaxel: Physical Characteristics | Paclitaxel: Effective or Too Costly? | Paclitaxel’s Affect on History | History’s Affect on Paclitaxel | References
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Paclitaxel works to inhibit mitosis in quickly multiplying cells in the body (cancer cells in particular).
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Upon injection of the drug, paclitaxel interfers with the beta subunit of tubulin, an important part of the microtubule that facilitates cell division and construction. -
Moreover, when paclitaxel bonds with this specifc part of the microtubules, the cell goes through characteristics that are irregular and affect the division of the cell in mitosis.
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Once mitosis is started, the microtubules position themselves for division and seperation into the emerging ‘new’ cell; however, the paclitaxel has already bonded to the microtubule and created a surpluss of microtubules (in contrast to other mitotic inhibitors that attach to tubulin and disassemble the microtubules), and thus, the cell undergoes apoptosis (cell death).
