Inhibition of Trichomonas vaginalis replication by the microtubule stabilizer taxol.

Taxol, a plant alkaloid stabilizer of microtubules, inhibits in vitro the replication of the human pathogenic flagellate Trichomonas vaginalis in a dose-dependent fashion. Micromolar concentrations of the drug induce massive assembly of microtubules, resistant to antimicrotubule agents, and block the mitosis of the protozoa at an early stage preceding the formation of the spindle fibers and the depolymerization of the axostylar microtubules. Some hypotheses involving the inactivation of the microtubule-organizing centers and the stabilization of axostylar microtubules are formulated to explain the mechanism of action of taxol.