Class III β-tubulin (TUBB3): more than a biomarker in solid tumors?

Curr Mol Med. 2011 Dec;11(9):726-31. doi: 10.2174/156652411798062368.

Abstract

Class III β-tubulin (TUBB3) is a prominent mechanism of drug resistance expressed in a variety of solid tumors and particularly in lung and ovarian cancer. In the classical view, TUBB3 expression and drug resistance have been linked, and together they have been associated with a perturbation in microtubule dynamics. In keeping with this observation, TUBB3 was associated with drug resistance only when chemotherapy included a taxane in its chemical composition. In this review, we demonstrate that the classical supposition about TUBB3 is not correct, and that instead TUBB3 expression is linked to drug resistance as a complex survival mechanism activated by microenvironmental conditions such as poor nutrient supply and hypoxia.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / genetics
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / metabolism*
  • Cell Hypoxia / genetics
  • Drug Resistance, Neoplasm / genetics
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
  • Humans
  • Hypoglycemia / genetics
  • Hypoglycemia / metabolism
  • Neoplasms / genetics
  • Neoplasms / metabolism*
  • Tubulin / genetics
  • Tubulin / metabolism*

Substances

  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • Tubulin