EFFECT OF DACTYLARIN ON HELA CELLS

Dactylarin is a new antiprotozoal antibiotic which also exhibits cytotoxic activity. The decrease of mitotic index in treated HeLa cells indicates that the antibiotic inhibition is expressed prior to mitosis. Dactyiarin inhibited the progression or G2 cells into mitosis. One of the earliest changes of dactylarin-treated cells was an increase in the cell size. Dactylarin induced unbalanced growth of HeLa cells in which DNA and RNA content per unit of cell volume decreased. while protein content remained directly proportional to the increased cell volume, Under the same experimental conditions only a slight effect on glucose utilization was observed. In the light of these findings, the possible lethal action of dactylarin was discussed.