A new possible parameter for the detection of aneuploidy inducing substances: The analysis of qualitative and quantitative abnormalities of the spindle apparatus

In the present study, compared to other cytogenetic methods, we measured the number of aneuploid cells directly by analyzing anomalies of the mitotic spindle. Qualitative and quantitative abnormalities of the mitotic spindle apparatus in transformed and non-transformed cell lines in vitro were classified, We treated the different cell lines with well known aneugenic agents as Benomyl and Griseofulvin and investigated the mitotic spindle under different experimental conditions, The spindle apparatus was stained by indirect immunofluorescence and the chromatin was counterstained by fluorescent dyes, The mitotic spindle showed a great sensitivity to the aneuploidy-inducing substances used in our experiments. The spindle-disturbing effect of the tested substances was demonstrated to be dose-dependent. The morphological alterations appeared to be independent of the aneuploidy-inducing test substance used, but showed a relation to the dose and length of treatment. Thus, the analysis of the mitotic spindle may be a useful screening parameter for the detection of aneuploidy-inducing substances and further investigations will provide additional results to specific parameters.