Saito Shin-ya
Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Shizuoka, Yada 52-1, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka 422-8526, Japan.
Prog Mol Subcell Biol. 2009;46:187-219. doi: 10.1007/978-3-540-87895-7_7.
Actin and tubulin are the two major proteins of the cytoskeleton in eukaryotic cells and both display a common property to reversibly assemble into long and flexible polymers, actin filaments and microtubules, respectively. These proteins play important roles in a variety of cellular functions and are also involved in numbers of diseases. An emerging number of marine-derived cytotoxins have been found to bind either actin or tublin, resulting in either inhibition or enhancement of polymerization. Thus, these toxins are valuable molecular probes for solving complex mechanisms of biological processes. This chapter describes actin- and tubulin-targeting marine natural products and their modes of action, with reference to their use as research tools and their clinical applications.
肌动蛋白和微管蛋白是真核细胞细胞骨架中的两种主要蛋白质，二者都具有一种共同特性，即能分别可逆地组装成细长且灵活的聚合物，即肌动蛋白丝和微管。这些蛋白质在多种细胞功能中发挥重要作用，并且还与许多疾病有关。已发现越来越多源自海洋的细胞毒素能够与肌动蛋白或微管蛋白结合，从而导致聚合作用受到抑制或增强。因此，这些毒素是用于解析生物过程复杂机制的有价值的分子探针。本章介绍了靶向肌动蛋白和微管蛋白的海洋天然产物及其作用方式，并提及了它们作为研究工具的用途及其临床应用。
