Changes caused by chloroquine in cultured nervous tissues of the rat.

Cultures of dorsal root ganglia and spinal cord segements of Wistar rats were subjected to chloroquine at a concentration of 2 X 10(-4)M for periods from 1-6 days. The perikarya of sensory ganglion cells and central neurons reacted to the drug by vesiculation and dilatation of the Golgi apparatus after 24 hrs of chloroquine administration. At this stage small numbers of multilamellated bodies (MLB) were present in the cytoplasm. Widening of the Golgi organelle had progressed, and MLB increased in size and numbers 48 hrs after exposure to the drug. Membranes of the Golgi apparatus and of the endoplasmic reticulum were incorporated in the lamellae of the MLB. At 6 days of chloroquine treatment the neurons were filled with large numbers of MLB. Acid phosphatase activity was found in MLB at early stages of drug exposure up to 48 hrs. At the 5th day of exposure no reaction for this hydrolytic enzyme was detected.