Taxol reduces synergistic, mechanobiological invasiveness of metastatic cells

Paclitaxel (Taxol) is a chemotherapy drug widely used to treat different types of solid tumors (e.g. ovarian, breast, and pancreatic). Taxol acts by hyper-stabilizing microtubules, inhibiting mitosis, and eventually causing cell apoptosis. The change in cytoskeleton dynamics likely influences the cell's ability to apply force and change shape; both are required for metastatic invasion. We have previously shown that the mechanobiological invasiveness of metastatic cells can be determined through their mechanical interactions with a synthetic polyacrylamide gel; a subset of metastatic cells indent gels in attempted invasion, while benign cells do not.