Cytogenetic chromosomal preparations using 2-methoxyestradiol

The antimitotic drug 2-methoxyestradiol is an end metabolite of catechol estrogens. In vivo, it arrests cells in mitosis by interfering with the dynamics of the mitotic spindle without disrupting tubulin formation. It has a mitotic index similar to that of Colcemid in different cell lines. Here we report that 2-methoxyestradiol can be used for making cytogenetic preparations of comparable quality to that of colcemid. In addition, 2-methoxyestradiol is devoid of the toxicity associated with Colcemid, which may make 2-methoxyestradiol useful in slowly growing samples often found in primary solid tumor cultures where a sufficient number of mitotic cells is difficult to obtain. (C) Elsevier Science Inc., 1998.