Class III β -Tubulin (TUBB3): More than a Biomarker in Solid Tumors?

M.      Mariani; S.      Shahabi; S.      Sieber; G.      Scambia; C.      Ferlini

Abstract

Class III β-tubulin (TUBB3) is a prominent mechanism of drug resistance expressed in a variety of solid tumors and particularly in lung and ovarian cancer. In the classical view, TUBB3 expression and drug resistance have been linked, and together they have been associated with a perturbation in microtubule dynamics. In keeping with this observation, TUBB3 was associated with drug resistance only when chemotherapy included a taxane in its chemical composition. In this review, we demonstrate that the classical supposition about TUBB3 is not correct, and that instead TUBB3 expression is linked to drug resistance as a complex survival mechanism activated by microenvironmental conditions such as poor nutrient supply and hypoxia.

Keywords: Tubulin, biomarkers, drug-resistance, poor outcome, pharmacogenomics, toxicity, biomediators, myeloid leukemia, tumors, imatinib, dasatinib, nilotinib, oncogene, carcinoma, angiogenesis