Taxane

Taxane

The taxanes are diterpenes produced by the plants of the genus "Taxus" (yews). As their name suggests, they were first derived from natural sources, but some have been synthesized artificially. Taxanes include paclitaxel and docetaxel. Paclitaxel was originally derived from the Pacific yew tree.

Taxanes have been used to produce various chemotherapy drugs. The principal mechanism of the taxane class of drugs is the disruption of microtubule function. It does this by stabilizing GDP-bound tubulin in the microtubule. Microtubules are essential to cell division, and taxanes therefore stop this - a "frozen mitosis". Thus, taxanes are essentially mitotic inhibitors. In contrast to the taxanes, the vinca alkaloids destroy mitotic spindles. Both, taxanes and vinca alkaloids are therefore named spindle poisons or mitosis poisons, but they act in different ways. Taxanes are also thought to be radiosensitizing.

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  • Taxane — sind natürlich vorkommende Zytostatika, also Stoffe, die das Zellwachstum bzw. die Zellteilung hemmen. Chemisch gesehen gehören Taxane zu den Diterpenoiden (Diterpene). Seit Anfang der 1990er Jahre werden Taxane in der Krebstherapie eingesetzt.… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Taxane —   [zu lateinisch taxus »Eibe«] die, von verschiedenen Eibenarten gebildete Gruppe von Naturstoffen, die als Mitosehemmer zur Tumorbehandlung eingesetzt werden. Die therapeutisch zuerst verwendete Substanz war das in der pazifischen Eibe (Taxus… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Taxane — Les taxanes sont une classe très utilisée d agents chimiothérapeutiques[1],[2]. Cette classe comprend le paclitaxel (Taxol) et le docétaxel (Taxotère). À l origine, le paclitaxel (Taxol) a été isolé de l if de l ouest (Taxus brevifolia)[1], un if …   Wikipédia en Français

  • taxane — A type of drug that blocks cell growth by stopping mitosis (cell division). Taxanes interfere with microtubules (cellular structures that help move chromosomes during mitosis). They are used to treat cancer. A taxane is a type of mitotic… …   English dictionary of cancer terms

  • Taxane 10beta-hydroxylase — In enzymology, a taxane 10beta hydroxylase (EC number|1.14.13.76) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction:taxa 4(20),11 dien 5alpha yl acetate + NADPH + H+ + O2 ightleftharpoons 10beta hydroxytaxa 4(20),11 dien 5alpha yl acetate + NADP+ …   Wikipedia

  • Taxane 13alpha-hydroxylase — In enzymology, a taxane 13alpha hydroxylase (EC number|1.14.13.77) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction:taxa 4(20),11 dien 5alpha ol + NADPH + H+ + O2 ightleftharpoons taxa 4(20),11 dien 5alpha,13alpha diol + NADP+ + H2OThe 4… …   Wikipedia

  • taxane — noun any of a class of diterpenoid drugs that inhibit cancer cell growth and division. Examples are Paclitaxel (taxol) and Docetaxel (taxotere) …   Wiktionary

  • taxane — n. any of a group of cytotoxic drug formerly extracted from a species of yew tree (Taxus) but now synthesized or produced by biotechnological methods. These drugs interact with tubulin, a protein involved in cell division, and have been found to… …   Medical dictionary

  • taxane — n. any of a group of cytotoxic drugs formerly extracted from a species of yew tree (Taxus) but now synthesized or produced by biotechnological methods. These drugs interact with tubulin, a protein involved in cell division, and have been found to …   The new mediacal dictionary

  • taxane —  n.f. Substance antitumorale …   Le dictionnaire des mots absents des autres dictionnaires

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