Withaferin A (Wit A) is a natural product, isolated from the plant Withania somnifera, which is known to possess anti-cancer activity. The analysis of the cell cycle of glioblastoma cells (SF-268 cell line) treated with 1 or 2µM of Wit A for 24h showed an arrest at the G2/M phase. Confocal microscopy images confirmed that cells were arrested in mitosis and that microtubule formation is altered. Furthermore a tubulin polymerization assay showed that Wit A acts in a similar way to paclitaxel by inducing and stabilizing the formation of microtubules (Figure 1).
Fig.1: (A) Molecular structure of withaferin A. (B) Tubulin polymerization assay.
