integrity in the absence of the various nucleating factors and other stabilizing elements found in the cell. For example, it is used for in vitro tests of drugs that aim to alter the behavior of microtubule motor proteins, or for studies of mutant motor proteins. Moreover, Paclitaxel has been used in vitro to inhibit insulin fibrillation; in a molar ratio of 10:1 (insulin:paclitaxel), it hindered insulin fibrillation near 70%. Iso-thermal titration calorimetry (ITC) findings indicated a spontaneous tendency of paclitaxel to interact with insulin through hydrogen bonds and van der Waal's forces. Also, the inhibitory role of paclitaxel is attributed to its impact on the colloidal stability of protein solution, as it was observed that paclitaxel inhibited lysozyme fibrillation by inducing the formation of "off-pathway" oligomeric intermediates and increasing the colloidal stability subsequently. Paclitaxel is sometimes used for in vivo studies as well; it can be fed to test organisms, such as fruit flies, or injected into individual cells, to inhibit microtubule disassembly or to increase the number of microtubules in the cell. Paclitaxel induces remyelination in a demyelinating mouse in vivo and inhibits hPAD2 in vitro though its methyl ester side chain. Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc. began phase II clinical trials in 1999 as a multiple sclerosis treatment but in 2002, reported that the results showed no statistical significance. In 2016 in vitro multi-drug resistant mouse tumor cells were treated with paclitaxel encased in exosomes. Doses 98% less than common dosing had the same effect. Also, dye-marked exosomes were able to mark tumor cells, potentially aiding in diagnosis. Additional images References Further reading External links Molecule of the Month: TAXOL by Neil Edwards, University of Bristol. A Tale of Taxol from Florida State University. Bristol Myers Squibb Microtubule inhibitors Mitotic inhibitors Benzoate esters Carboxylate esters Benzamides Secondary alcohols Tertiary alcohols Ketones Acetate esters Taxanes Pregnane X receptor agonists World Health Organization essential medicines Wikipedia medicine articles ready to translate Plant toxins