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Microtubule Crystals: A New Biophysical Phenomenon induced by Vinca Alkaloids

Nature volume 218, pages 1176–1177 (1968)Cite this article

Abstract

THE mitotic apparatus of living oocytes of Pectnaria gouldi undergoes marked alterations when the oocytes are perfused with solutions containing alkaloids from the periwinkle (Vinca): the size and birefringence of the mitotic spindle decrease gradually as seen in polarized light, and these changes occur concomitant with the attrition and disappearance of the spindle microtubules as shown by electron microscopy1. We have now shown that these same alkaloids (10−4–10−5 M vinblastino or vincristine sulphate) bring about a reorganization of microtubules after incubation for a short time with various mammalian cells (human polymorpho and mononuclear leucocytes or strain L fibroblasts) in maintenance media.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Pathology and Internal Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut

    KLAUS G. BENSCH & STEPHEN E. MALAWISTA

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  1. KLAUS G. BENSCH
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  2. STEPHEN E. MALAWISTA
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BENSCH, K., MALAWISTA, S. Microtubule Crystals: A New Biophysical Phenomenon induced by Vinca Alkaloids. Nature 218, 1176–1177 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1038/2181176a0

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