Nuroaxonal degeneration induced by sodium diethyldithiocarbamate in cultures of central nervous tissue.

Well myelinated cultures of newborn mouse cerebellum, exposed to varying concentrations of sodium diethyldithiocarbamate (DDC), a heavy metal chelating agent, were examined by light and electron microscopy. DDC treatment of cultures for 24-48 hours produced swellings of axons and presynaptic endings, the morphological features characteristic of dystrophic axons. The axonal swellings contained an increased amount of endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria and dense bodies. A continued exposure to DDC induced an extensive degeneration of axons and ensheathing myelin. Glial cells, on the other hand, were structurally intact even after a long-term exposure to DDC. It is suggested that DDC produces in myelinated CNS cultures an initial enlargement of axons and presynaptic endings and then continues to induce Wallerian degeneration in axons.