Microtubule (MT) (MT)

Microtubules are dynamic, hollow cylinders composed of alpha- and beta-tubulin heterodimers that serve as essential components of the eukaryotic cytoskeleton (UniProt, 2024). They are critical for various cellular processes, including the maintenance of cell architecture, intracellular trafficking, and ciliary movement (PubMed, 2021). In dividing cells, microtubules undergo rapid reorganization to form the mitotic spindle, a structure responsible for the precise segregation of sister chromatids (Nature Reviews Cancer, 2004). This pivotal role in mitosis makes polymerized microtubules a highly effective target for anti-cancer therapies. Microtubule-targeting agents (MTAs) disrupt the dynamic equilibrium between tubulin dimers and polymers, leading to cell cycle arrest at the metaphase-anaphase transition and subsequent apoptosis (StatPearls, 2023). These agents are broadly categorized into microtubule-stabilizing agents, such as taxanes, and microtubule-destabilizing agents, such as vinca alkaloids (PubChem, 2024). Beyond oncology, microtubules are also targeted in inflammatory diseases like gout, where colchicine inhibits microtubule polymerization to reduce leukocyte activity (NIH, 2023). While highly effective, these drugs often cause side effects such as peripheral neuropathy due to the disruption of microtubule-dependent transport in long axons (NIH, 2022).

Other names

Tubulin polymerMitotic spindleCytoskeletal microtubuleTubulin

Microtubule-targeting agents (MTAs) interfere with the dynamic instability of microtubules by either promoting polymerization and stabilizing the polymer (e.g., taxanes) or inhibiting polymerization and promoting depolymerization (e.g., vinca alkaloids), both resulting in mitotic spindle dysfunction and cell cycle arrest (StatPearls, 2023).