title: Anticancer drugs from nature--natural products as a unique source of new microtubule-stabilizing agents.
abstract: This review article provides an overview on the current state of research in the area of microtubule-stabilizing agents from natural sources, with a primary focus on the biochemistry, biology, and pharmacology associated with these compounds. A variety of natural products have been discovered over the last decade to inhibit human cancer cell proliferation through a taxol-like mechanism. These compounds represent a whole new range of structurally diverse lead structures for anticancer drug discovery.
authors: Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), HCI H405, Wolfgang-Pauli-Str. 10, CH-8093, Zürich, Switzerland. karl-heinz.altmann@pharma.ethz.ch
authors: Karl-Heinz
authors: KH
authors: Altmann
authors: Jürg
authors: J
authors: Gertsch
mesh_terms: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D001688:Biological Products / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D008870:Microtubules / Q000187:drug effects*; D015394:Molecular Structure; D017239:Paclitaxel / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D001688:Biological Products; D017239:Paclitaxel