J Neural Transm. 1975;37(4):305-11.
Comparison between the effect of colchicine and lumicolchicine on axonal transport in rat motor neurons.

Dahlstom A, Heiwall PO, Larsson PA.

The mitotic inhibitor colchicine (COL) and its isomer lumi-colchicine (lumi-COL) were tested on the axonal transport of acetylcholine (ACh), cholineacetyltransferase (CAT) and ACh-esterase (AChE) in rat motor nerves in vivo. COL was found to be far more effective in blocking axonal transport of all 3 substances than was an equimolar concentration (0.1 M) of lumi-COL, when injected into the sciatic nerve. Since COL and lumi-COL have similar properties as regards binding to cellular membranes, but differ markedly in their binding capacity to microtubule protein, the results give strong support for the theory that microtubules are essential for intra-axonal transport in mammalian nerves.


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J Cell Physiol. 1976 May;88(1):23-31.
Pleiotropic phenotype of colchicine-resistant CHO cells: cross-resistance and collateral sensitivity.

Bech-Hansen NT, Till JE, Ling V.

Colchicine resistant (CHR) mutants of CHO cells with reduced permeability to colchicine display extensive cross-resistance to a number of apparently unrelated compounds including puromycin, daunomycin, emetine, ethidium bromide and gramicidin D. A positive correlation was observed between the level of cross-resistance and the relative hydrophobicity of these compounds. The mutants also showed increased (collateral) sensitivity to local anaesthetics (procaine, tetracaine, xylocaine and propanolol), steroid hormones (1-dehydrotestosterone, corticosterone and 5beta-pregnan-3,20-dione) and some Triton X compounds. In general, the degree of the pleiotropic response (cross-resistance or collateral sensitivity) correlated with the degree of colchicine resistance in mutant lines. These results are consistent with the pleiotropic phenotype being the result of the same mutation(s) which confer colchicine resistance and support a model for resistance in which the reduced permeability is assumed to be the result of an alteration in the modulation of the fluidity of the surface membrane.


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Acta Physiol Scand. 1976 Apr;96(4):486-94.
Effects of colchicine and vinblastine on axonal transport of choline acetyltransferase in rat sciatic nerve.

Dziegielewska KM, Saunders NR, Evans CA, Skacel PO, Haggendal CJ, Heiwall PO, Dahalstrom AB.

The effects of colchicine (0.5-10(-2) M) and vinblastine (10(-2)-10(-5) M) Upon axonal transport of choline acetyltranserase (CAT) and on nerve impulse conduction have been investigated in the rat sciatic nerve. High concentrations of colchicine (0.5 M) and vinblastine (10(-2) M) blocked completely both axonal transport of CAT and impulse conduction. 10(-3) M vinblastine did not affect impulse conduction until 20-22 h after injection, but this concentration of vinblastine did block CAT transport but not impulse conduction. 10(-2) M and 10(-1) M colchicine were without effect on impulse conduction, but did produce substantial, although incomplete, block of CAT transport. The results are discussed in relation to the possible involvement of microtubules in transport of CAT.


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Cell Tissue Res. 1976 Jul 20;170(1):17-41.
Colchicine effects on neurosecretory neurons and other hypothalamic and hypophysial cells, with special reference to changes in the cytoplasmic membranes.

Hindelang-Gertner C, Stoeckel ME, Porte A, Stutinsky F.

The morphological effects of colchicine on the entire neurosecretory (NS) tract and on various hypothalamic nuclei have been studied. The perturbations in axonal flow, indicated by the accumulation of NS material, coincide with fragmentation of the cytoplasmic membranes, i.e. the Golgi apparatus and the endoplasmic reticulum, whereas the neurotubules remain relatively well preserved. Autophagic destruction of NS material is observed along the entire length of the NS fibres. The rapid and systematic changes in the axoplasmic reticulum, known to store calcium, lead us to envisage a role for this system-similar to that of the sarcoplasmic reticulum-in controlling the transport of NS vesicles. The junctional zone between the stalk and the neural lobe seems to play a particular role in the transport of NS material to the posthypophysial terminals of the NS axons. Colchicine provokes an increase in dense-cored vesicles in most of the neurons of the other hypothalamic nuclei studied: arcuate, suprachiasmatic, periventricular and ventromedial. Membranous alterations are also observed in these sites. Colchicine administered to animals which were hypothyroid, castrated or adrenalectomized, reveals stimulated neurons, identified by their excessive content of dense-cored vesicles. These neurons display no specific localization, for they occur in all hypothalamic nuclei, irrespective of the stimulation. The frequency of stimulation of neurons of the periventricular nucleus is striking.


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