Abstract
Maytansine, a novel ansa macrolide (1), has potent anti-tumor and antimitotic activity (2, 3). It blocks cell cycle traverse in mitosis with resultant accumulation of metaphase cells (4). Inhibition of brain tubulin polymerization in vitro by maytansine has also been reported (3). The C-mitotic effect of this drug is similar to that of the well known Vinca- alkaloids, vinblastine and vincristine. This study was carried out to examine the effects of maytansine on the cell cycle traverse and the fine struc- I ture of human lymphoblasts.Log-phase cultures of CCRF-CEM human lymphoblasts were exposed to maytansine concentrations from 10-6 M to 10-10 M for 18 hrs. Aliquots of cells were removed for cell cycle analysis by flow microfluorometry (FMF) (5) and also processed for transmission electron microscopy (TEM). FMF analysis of cells treated with 10-8 M maytansine showed a reduction in the number of G1 cells and a corresponding build-up of cells with G2/M DNA content.
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