Establishment of taxol-resistant KB cell line and its characterization

Paclitaxel (Taxol), which belongs to the group of taxanes, is a natural product derived front the bark and the needles of the Pacific yew. Since it was isolated in 1971, it has been a target of active research. Paclitaxel is an antimicrotubule drug that not only stabilizes microtubules by inhibiting their disassembly, but also promote their assembly.(1)) Thus its mechanism of action is different from other antimicrotubule agents currently in use, such as the vinca-alkaloids, which inhibit the formation of microtubules. In clinical trials, paclitaxel has shown an antitumor effect in a variety of human cancers, not only in cancers of the breast and the ovary but also in melanoma, head and neck cancer and lung cancer.(2)) It is common for recurrent cancer cells to have acquired resistance to the antitumor agent to which they were previously exposed. and an effective therapy is not currently available in such cases. It is therefore very important to identify the mechanisms of drug resistant in order to improve the clinical efficacy of chemotherapy. So we attempted to establish a taxol-resistant KB cell line.