García-Hevia Lorena, Fernández Fidel, Grávalos Cristina, García Almudena, Villegas Juan C, Fanarraga Mónica L
Departamento de Biología Molecular, Universidad de Cantabria-IDIVAL, Santander 39011, Spain.
Nanomedicine (Lond). 2014 Jul;9(10):1581-8. doi: 10.2217/nnm.14.92.
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and microtubules are both hollow nanofibers and have similar dimensions; they both self-assemble and form bundles. These common features prompt their association into biosynthetic polymers in vitro and in vivo. Unlike CNTs, microtubules are highly dynamic protein polymers essential for cell proliferation and migration. Interaction between these filaments inside live cells leads to microtubule dysfunction, mitotic arrest and cell death. Thus, CNTs behave as spindle poisons, same as taxanes, vinca alkaloids or epotilones. Recent findings support the idea that CNTs represent a ground-breaking type of synthetic microtubule-stabilizing agents that could play a pivotal role in future cancer treatments in combination to traditional antineoplastic drugs. Here we review the potential use of CNTs in cancer medicine.
碳纳米管（CNTs）和微管都是中空纳米纤维，且尺寸相似；它们都能自我组装并形成束状结构。这些共同特征促使它们在体外和体内与生物合成聚合物结合。与碳纳米管不同，微管是细胞增殖和迁移所必需的高度动态的蛋白质聚合物。活细胞内这些细丝之间的相互作用会导致微管功能障碍、有丝分裂停滞和细胞死亡。因此，碳纳米管与紫杉烷、长春花生物碱或埃坡霉素一样，具有纺锤体毒素的作用。最近的研究结果支持这样一种观点，即碳纳米管代表了一种开创性的合成微管稳定剂，与传统抗肿瘤药物联合使用时，可能在未来癌症治疗中发挥关键作用。在此，我们综述了碳纳米管在癌症医学中的潜在应用。
