Nocodazole is an antineoplastic agent which exerts its effect in cells by interfering with the polymerization of microtubules.

Nocodazole stimulates the expression of LATS2 which potently inhibits the Wnt signaling pathway by abrogating the interaction between the Wnt-dependent transcriptional co-factors beta-catenin and BCL9.

As nocodazole affects the cytoskeleton, it is often used in cell biology experiments as a control: for example, some dominant negative Rho small GTPases cause a similar effect as nocodazole, and constitutively activated mutants often reverse or negate the effect.

Cells treated with nocodazole arrest with a G2- or M-phase DNA content when analyzed by flow cytometry.

The absence of microtubule attachment to kinetochores activates the spindle assembly checkpoint, causing the cell to arrest in prometaphase.