Abstract
Colcemid, a mitotic inhibitor, promotes UV-induced apoptosis in CHO-K1 cells. In this study, colcemid was found to inhibit DNA repair in the UV-irradiated cells. This effect of colcemid was observed in three different procedures, i.e. The nucleoid size analysis, the comet assay and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Since colcemid promoted apoptosis in UV-irradiated or cisplatin but not X-ray irradiated treated cells, this agent might specifically inhibit the nucleotide excision repair. This study suggests that effective cancer chemotherapy can be achieved by the combination of drugs with different action mechanisms.