The effects of diethylcarbamazine on the morphology and ultrastructure of foetal mouse cerebellar neurons in culture.

This paper examines morphological and ultrastructural changes in foetal mouse cerebellar neurons treated with a culture medium containing diethylcarbamazine (DEC), a widely used anti-parasitic drug known to interfere with vesicle transfer to and from the Golgi apparatus. The effects of DEC were drastic, with the complete disorganization of the Golgi apparatus and the appearance of large vacuoles within the cytoplasm. Quantitative data comparing normal and DEC-treated neurons in culture demonstrated significant differences between the length of Golgi cisternae and numbers of clear vesicles and secretory vesicles. The evidence therefore suggests that the various synthetic and secretory activities involving these organelles are severely impaired.