Taxol effects on glia in organotypic mouse spinal cord-DRG cultures.

Exposure of organotypic mouse spinal cord-dorsal root ganglion cultures to 1-2 microM taxol for up to 6 days results in a remarkable increase in cytoplasmic microtubules in differentiated oligodendroglia. In contrast, there is a notably smaller change in the microtubule complement of astroglia. This suggests that the regulatory and/or synthetic systems for tubulin in these glial types may differ, and that oligodendroglia appear more responsive to modulation in the levels of tubulin subunits as a result of the action of taxol.