Photoswitchable paclitaxel-based microtubule stabilisers allow optical control over the microtubule cytoskeleton.

ABSTRACT: Small molecule inhibitors are prime reagents for studies in microtubule cytoskeleton research, being applicable across a range of biological models and not requiring genetic engineering. However, traditional chemical inhibitors cannot be experimentally applied with spatiotemporal precision suiting the length and time scales inherent to microtubule-dependent cellular processes. We have synthesised photoswitchable paclitaxel-based microtubule stabilisers, whose binding is induced by photoisomerisation to their metastable state. Photoisomerising these reagents in living cells allows optical control over microtubule network integrity and dynamics, cell division and survival, with biological response on the timescale of seconds and spatial precision to the level of individual cells within a pop

SUBMITTER: Muller-Deku A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7493900 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature