There was a significant depression of the activities of intestinal lactase, invertase, and alkaline phosphatase in rats given drinking water containing 2.5 mg of colchicine per 100 ml. Activities of intestinal maltase, aspartate transcarbamylase, and dihydroorotase were not affected by the drug. Injection of colchicine (1 mg/kg) caused depression of intestinal invertase activity within 8 hr. In...

Tubulin, the constituent protein of microtubules, is an a@ heterodimer; both a and B exist in several isotypic forms whose functional significance is not precisely known. The antimitotic alkaloid colchicine binds to mammalian brain tubulin in a biphasic manner under pseudo-first-order conditions in the presence of a large excess of colchicine (Garland, D. L. (1978) Biochernis try 17, 4266-4272)...

In the mast cell, a well-developed array of microtubules is centered around the centrioles. Complete loss of microtubules is observed when mast cells are treated with 10(-5) M colchicine for 4 h at 37 degrees C. The loss of ultrastructurally evident microtubules is associated with a marked change in the shape of mast cells from spheroids to highly irregular, frequently elongated forms with ecce...

The pathogenesis of lithocholic acid (LCA-Na)-induced cholestasis involves a rapid accumulation of cholesterol in the bile canalicular membrane. Since microtubules play an important role in the intracellular transport of many materials, including cholesterol, the present study was undertaken to assess the extent to which they participate in the development of LCA-Na-induced cholestasis. Rats we...

Drug development is often not as linear as one would think. Repurposing of drugs for new uses is now common [1]. This is certainly the case of colchicine. Colchicine is one of the oldest anti-inflammatory drugs [2]. Colchicine was historically used as an unapproved drug to treat Mediterranean fever. In 2009, following compelling evidence in vitro and in vitro of the ability of colchicine to inh...

Introduction Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) represents an autoinflammatory disease caused be MEFV gene mutation characterized with attacks of polyserositis, commonly seen among Turks, Arabs, Armenians and Jews. Therapy with colchicine was proven to be effective in treatment of FMF polyserositis and in prevention of amyloidosis development. Colchicine resistant FMF is defined as 6 or more at...

Hu, Ying-Li, Song Li, John Y.-J. Shyy, and Shu Chien. Sustained JNK activation induces endothelial apoptosis: studies with colchicine and shear stress. Am. J. Physiol. 277 (Heart Circ. Physiol. 46): H1593–H1599, 1999.—The disruption of microtubules by treating bovine aortic endothelial cells with 1027–1025 M colchicine caused apoptosis, as evidenced by DNA laddering and TdT-mediated dUTP nick e...

Telomere clustering, the defining feature of the bouquet, is an almost universal feature of meiotic prophase, yet its mechanism remains unknown. The microtubule-depolymerizing agent colchicine was found to inhibit bouquet formation. Telomeres in colchicine-treated cells remained scattered in the nuclear periphery, whereas untreated cells exhibited a prominent telomere cluster. Colchicine admini...

Colchicine is an alkaloid extracted from autumnal Colchicum plant which is used primarily for its anti-inflammatory therapy effect. Acute intoxication with colchicine is uncommon but often severe and results in multiple visceral organ dysfunctions. The intoxication severity and mortality are directly depending on the ingested dose. The treatment is manly symptomatic. However, the development of...

Colchicine is used mainly for the treatment of gout and familial mediterranean fever. The use of colchicine is limited by its toxicity, and colchicine overdose is associated with a high mortality rate. Herein, we are reporting a young man who presented to the emergency department after ingesting 13.5 mg of colchicine and 1200 mg of aceclofenac (non-steroid anti-inflammatory drug) for deliberate...