Abstract
COLCHICINE and its methyl derivative colcemid not only inhibit microtubule self-assembly1 but also affect fast transport in nerve2. A report that mescaline likewise inhibits the rapid component of axoplasmic transport in nerve3, led us to investigate the effects of this drug on mitosis, and on purified microtubule protein (tubulin4). The structure of mescaline does resemble an abbreviated version of colchicine (Fig. 1). We report here that mescaline can, like colcemid, be used as a mitotic spindle inhibitor and has certain advantages as a cytogenetic reagent.
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HARRISSON, C., PAGE, B. & KEIR, H. Mescaline as a mitotic spindle inhibitor. Nature 260, 138–139 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1038/260138a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/260138a0
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