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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2011 Dec 1.
Published in final edited form as: Future Oncol. 2011 Feb;7(2):263–283. doi: 10.2217/fon.11.2

Figure 4. Role of acetylation in microtubule-targeted therapy.

Figure 4

Microtubule dynamicity is, in part, regulated by tubulin acetylation, which promotes stabilization. HDAC6 deacetylates microtubules and promotes their depolymerization. Chemotherapeutic taxanes bind to tubulin and inhibit depolymerization and thus microtubule dynamicity, which is essential for chromosome capture and mitosis. Therefore, combined taxanes (dark-colored balls) and HDAC inhibitors would lead to greater disruption of microtubule function and more cell death as a result.

Ac: Acetylation; HAT: Histone acetyltransferase; HDAC: Histone deacetylase