Figure 1.

Taxol-induced MT polymerization increases GTP-RhoA protein expression and cell cycle arrest. MT polymerization was elevated following Taxol treatment, as determined by immunofluorescent staining and confocal microscopy. (A) Confocal images of MFs stained with rhodamine-phalloidin (red), MTs stained with Alexa 488-labeled β-tubulin antibody (green) and nuclei stained with DAPI (blue) are presented. Scale bar=10 µm. (B) Western blot analysis and (C) Flow cytometry assessed GTP-RhoA protein expression levels following Taxol treatment. Expression of GTP-RhoA was significantly upregulated in a time-dependent manner. (D) Taxol treatment caused a significant increase in the proportion of cells in G2/M phase, as determined by flow cytometry. Data are presented as the mean ± standard deviation of three independent experiments. *P<0.05 and **P<0.01 vs. control. MT, microtubule; GTP, guanosine triphosphate; RhoA, Ras homology gene family, member A; MF, actin/myosin microfilaments.