Autometallographic detection of gold in dorsal root ganglia of rats treated with sodium aurothiomalate.

Ultraviolet light autometallography, a very sensitive method for gold detection, was applied to sections of dorsal root ganglia from adult male Wistar rats treated with intraperitoneal injections of sodium aurothiomalate. Silver-amplified traces of gold were detected within the cytoplasm of ganglion cells, satellite cells, Schwann cells, macrophages, endothelial cells, and fibroblasts throughout the ganglia. Gold was never detected in axons nor myelin sheaths. In the electron microscope, gold deposits were restricted to the lysosomes irrespective of cell type or dosage.