Further studies on the nature of red fluorescent structures in neuroblastoma monolayer cells vitally stained with acridine orange.

The nature of red fluorescent particles in vitally acridine orange stained C 1300 neuroblastoma monolayer cells was evaluated by electron microscopy, cytofluorometry, cytopharmacological and cell fractionation studies. At the ultrastructural level the distribution of red fluorescent granules correlated with that of the Golgi complex and Golgi derived structures during various stages of differentiation, mitosis, and under colcemid treatment. Cytopharmacological studies revealed that red fluorescence was displaced in a concentration and time dependent manner with the basic drugs chloroquine and quinacrine. Subcellular fractionation studies showed that acridine orange was concentrated in fractions that also contained the highest amount of acid phosphatase and electron dense vesicles. Vital acridine orange staining of neuroblastoma cells in culture can give information on the relationship between Golgi-derived vesicles and cell functions like proliferation and differentiation. The influence of drugs on these processes can be studied.