Colchicine biological activities

In addition to effects on biochemical reactions, the inhibitors may influence the permeability of the various cellular membranes and through physical and chemical effects may alter the structure of other subcellular structures such as proteins, nucleic acid, and spindle fibers. Unfortunately, few definite examples can be listed. The action of colchicine and podophyllin in interfering with cell division is well known. The effect of various lactones (coumarin, parasorbic acid, and protoanemonin) on mitotic activity was discussed above. Disturbances to cytoplasmic and vacuolar structure, and the morphology of mitochondria imposed by protoanemonin, were also mentioned. Interference with protein configuration and loss of biological activity was attributed to incorporation of azetidine-2-carboxylic acid into mung bean protein in place of proline. 

The availability of ketone 68 made possible for the first time the introduction of an amide group at C-5 instead of C-7, as found in natural colchicine (1) and N-acetylcolchinyl methyl ether (58), and to study the effects of this modification on biological activity. The synthesis of the... 

Benzo[b]furan and indole analogues of some recently identified benzo[b]thiophene inhibitors of tubulin polymerization have been synthesized, and their biological activity has been investigated. Among them, the compound 2-(3-hydroxy,4-methoxyphenyl),3-(3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoyl)-6-methoxyfuran-2-one 81 was the most active, exhibiting 5 times the level of potency of Combretastatin A-4. However, it is less potent than Combretastatin A-4 as inhibitor of [3H]colchicine... 

In the course of total syntheses of the antimitotic alkaloid ( + )-colchicine and its biologically active analog 12 the rearrangement of 9 and 11 to tropolone methyl ether 10 and 12, respectively, assisted by ten equivalents of l,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene, was used as the key step. ... 

Fig. 6-2 Examples of biologically active depressant and sedative (6) colchicine, an small molecules whose structural inhibitor of mitosis that causes microtubule...

Biological Activity of Colchicine Medicinal Uses of Colchicine Use of Colchicine in Horticulture Amaryllidaceae Alkaloids Biosynthesis Biological Activity... 

Much of the biological work with colchicine in recent years has lain in its use to detect and measure certain types of cellular activity, and in the study of the effects it produces when applied to growing plants. 

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