Production of Taxol™ (Paclitaxel) in Plant Cell Cultures

Paclitaxel is a valuable pharmaceutical compound currently used primarily for treatment of cancer, but which has also been found to reduce major adverse cardiac events when coated onto coronary stents. It is also being tested in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders characterized by altered microtubule networks. The biosynthesis of paclitaxel is complex, and until recently, molecular analysis of the system has been limited to work on the biosynthetic genes themselves.

The UMass Taxol™ consortium (Sue Roberts, Chemical Engineering; Elsbeth Walker, Biology; and Jennifer Normanly, BMB) applies molecular biology approaches to characterizing and manipulating Taxus metabolism for production of paclitaxel (Taxol™). Our long term goal is to understand the gene networks that plant cells use to produce chemicals that are useful as pharmaceuticals. With this knowledge, we will be able to make drugs that are cheaper, and more environmentally friendly, and more abundantly available.