title: Microtubule-associated proteins as targets in cancer chemotherapy.
abstract: Natural and synthetic compounds that disrupt microtubule dynamics are among the most successful and widely used cancer chemotherapeutic agents. However, lack of reliable markers that predict sensitivity of cancers to these agents and development of resistance remain vexing issues. There is accumulating evidence that a family of cellular proteins that are associated with and alter the dynamics of microtubules can determine sensitivity of cancer cells to microtubule-targeting agents and play a role in tumor cell resistance to these agents. This growing family of microtubule-associated proteins (MAP) includes products of oncogenes, tumor suppressors, and apoptosis regulators, suggesting that alteration of microtubule dynamics may be one of the critical events in tumorigenesis and tumor progression. The objective of this review is to integrate the knowledge on these seemingly unrelated proteins that share a common function and examine their relevance to microtubule-targeting therapies and highlight MAPs-tubulin-drug interactions as a novel avenue for new drug discovery. Based on the available evidence, we propose that rational microtubule-targeting cancer therapeutic approaches should ideally include proteomic profiling of tumor MAPs before administration of microtubule-stabilizing/destabilizing agents preferentially in combination with agents that modulate the expression of relevant MAPs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA.
authors.forename: Kumar M R
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Bhat
authors.forename: Vijayasaradhi
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Setaluri
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism*; D008870:Microtubules / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D020409:Molecular Motor Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D009857:Oncogenes; D008941:Spindle Apparatus / Q000378:metabolism; D000077022:Survivin; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; C107489:BIRC5 protein, human; D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins; D020409:Molecular Motor Proteins; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D000077022:Survivin; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins