MCB 2210 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Nocodazole, Mitosis, Centrosome
30 Oct 2016
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Document Summary
In cells, microtubules radiate from a structure called the microtubule organizing center (mtoc) In non-mitotic (interphase) cells, the mtoc is called the centrosome: the minus end of the microtubule is embedded in the mtoc and the plus end faces out into the cytosol. If tubulin is depolymerized by cooling cells to 4 degrees celsius and then allowed to repolymerize by warming (or washing out the drug) new microtubules grow out from the centrosome and the normal microtubule distribution returns. The study of microtubules: has been aided by using drugs that affect polymerization, taxol. Extracted from the bark of the yew tree. It binds to mt"s and stabilized the polymer, preventing disassembly. Taxol blocks mt dependent processes such as mitotic spindle assembly. Very effective chemotherapeutic agent in treating ovarian and beast cancers: colchicine. It binds the tubulin dimer such that when the dimer polymerizes into a mt, the colchicine prevents further polymerization onto the mt end.
