Nocodazole
501210
219745706
2008-06-16T18:19:50Z
Rjwilmsi
203434
[[WP:AWB/T|Typo]]/[[Template:Citation|accessdate]]/[[MOS:SYL|date]] fixes, Replaced: dependant → dependent, typos fixed: distrubuted → distributed, added [[:Category:Uncategorized stubs|uncategorised]
'''Nocodazole''' is an anti-[[neoplastic]] [[Chemical compound|agent]] which exerts its effect in cells by interfering with the [[polymer]]ization of [[microtubule]]s. Microtubules are one type of fibre which constitutes the [[cytoskeleton]], and the dynamic microtubule network has several important roles in the cell, including vesicular transport, forming the [[mitotic spindle]] and in [[cytokinesis]]. Several drugs including [[vincristine]] and colcemid are similar to nocodazole in that they interfere with microtubule polymerisation.
As nocodazole affects the cytoskeleton, it is often used in [[cell biology]] experiments as a control: for example, some dominant negative [[Rho]] [[small GTPase]]s cause a similar effect as nocodazole, and constitutively activated mutants often reverse or negate the effect.
Nocodazole is frequently used in cell biology laboratories to synchronize the [[cell cycle|cell division cycle]]. Cells treated with nocodazole arrest with a [[G2 phase|G2]]- or [[Mitosis|M]]-phase DNA content when analysed by [[flow cytometry]]. Microscopy of nocodazole-treated cells shows that they do enter [[mitosis]] but cannot form [[metaphase]] [[mitotic spindle|spindles]] because microtubules (of which the spindles are made) cannot polymerise. The absence of microtubule attachment to [[kinetochore]]s activates the [[spindle checkpoint|spindle assembly checkpoint]], causing the cell to arrest in [[prometaphase]]. For cell synchronization experiments, nocodazole is usually used at a concentration of 40-100ng/mL of culture medium for a duration of 12-18 hrs. Prolonged arrest of cells in mitosis due to nocodazole treatment typically results in cell death by [[apoptosis]].
Another standard cell biological application of Nocodazole is to induce the formation of [[Golgi]] ministacks in [[eukaryotic]] cells. The perinuclear structural organization of the [[Golgi apparatus]] in eukaryotes is dependent on microtubule trafficking, but disrupting the trafficking of Golgi elements from the endoplasmic reticulum treatment with Nocodazole (33 uM for 3 hours works) induces numerous Golgi elements to form adjacent to ER exit sites. These functional Golgi ministacks remain distributed about the cell, unable to track forward to form a perinuclear Golgi since Nocodazole has depolymerized the microtubules.
==External links==
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[[zh:诺考达唑]]