Selective compounds derived from marine organisms: effects on cell division in fertilized sea urchin eggs.

An investigation of the pharmacological selectivity of the fertilized sea urchin egg assay was undertaken with the view that this echinoderm may serve as a useful model for detecting new compounds that inhibit cell division and also may yield substantive information on biochemical events that may be sensitive to drug action. One hundred and thirty purified marine natural products were tested as well as 14 known antineoplastic agents. Nine active marine cytotoxins were identified and, based on in vitro studies of microtubule assembly, five compounds inhibited tubulin polymerization. Of the 14 antineoplastic agents tested thus far, the transcriptional inhibitor daunomycin has proven active as well as the microtubule assembly inhibitors Colcemid, podophyllotoxin, vinblastine, and vincristine.