Dicoumarol: a Unique Microtubule Stabilizing Natural Product That Is Synergistic with Taxol1
[CANCER RESEARCH 63, 1214–1220, March 15, 2003] Dicoumarol: A Unique Microtubule Stabilizing Natural Product that Is Synergistic with Taxol1 Hamta Madari, Dulal Panda, Leslie Wilson, and Robert S. Jacobs2 Departments of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology [H. M., R. S. J.] and Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology [L. W.], University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, and Bhupat and Jyoti Mehta School of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, Mumbai, India 400076 [D. P.] ABSTRACT prostate cancer, malignant melanoma, and metastatic renal cell carci- noma (12–14). In studies on the antiproliferative actions of coumarin compounds, we In addition, the coumarin anticoagulants, dicoumarol (Dicumarol) -discovered that dicoumarol (a coumarin anticoagulant; 3,3-methyl and its synthetic derivative warfarin sodium (Coumadin), have been enebis[4-hydroxycoumarin]) inhibits the first cleavage of Strongylocentro- tus purpuratus (sea urchin) embryos in a concentration-dependent manner shown to decrease metastases in experimental animals (15). Warfarin with 50% inhibition occurring at a concentration of 10 M. Because first sodium, largely replacing dicoumarol therapeutically as an anticoag- cleavage in sea urchin embryos is highly selective for microtubule- ulant, has been used for the treatment of a variety of cancers and targeted agents, we thought that the active compounds might inhibit cell shown to improve tumor response rates and survival in patients with division by interacting with tubulin or microtubules. We found that several types of cancer (16–22). However, despite numerous studies, dicoumarol binds to bovine brain tubulin with a Kd of 22 M and that 0.1 little information has been acquired on the cellular mechanism of M dicoumarol strongly stabilizes the growing and shortening dynamics action of coumarin compounds in the treatment of malignancies.
[Show full text]