title: Induction by cocaine of defective spindle formation in cultured mouse oocytes.
abstract: The effect of cocaine on spindle morphology in mouse oocytes was investigated. Oocytes were exposed to 10, 100 and 1000 mug cocaine/ml and cultured for 20 hr to the metaphase II equivalent stage. Spindles were visualized in whole-mount preparations by indirect immunofluorescence staining for tubulin. Concentrations of 10 and 100 mug cocaine/ml had no significant effect on oocyte maturation. Cocaine at a concentration of 10 mug/ml also had no discernible effect on spindle morphology but exposure to 100 mug/ml resulted in a significant increase in the frequency of defective spindles (44 +/- 7% compared with 12 +/- 2% in controls). Exposure to 1000 mug cocaine/ml blocked development at the metaphase I stage. The abnormal spindles were characterized by barrel shapes and asymmetric spindle halves containing wavy or branched spindle fibres. Chromosome misalignment was also observed in some cases. Spindle-active agents are known to cause chromosome malsegregation and the results of this study suggest that cocaine may have the potential to cause aneuploidy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomical Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14214, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sobel
authors.forename: E G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Goldstein
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dannenhoffer