Mescaline as a mitotic spindle inhibitor

COLCHICINE and its methyl derivative colcemid not only inhibit microtubule self-assembly 1 but also affect fast transport in nerve 2 . A report that mescaline likewise inhibits the rapid component of axoplasmic transport in nerve 3 , led us to investigate the effects of this drug on mitosis, and on purified microtubule protein (tubulin 4 ). 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.