'Acrylamide-induced' neuropathy and impairment of axonal transport of proteins. I. Multifocal retention of fast transported proteins at the periphery of axons as revealed by light microscope radioautography.

The axonal transport of proteins was studied in ciliary ganglia of control and acrylamide-treated chickens. After an intracerebral injection of [3H]lysine, the distribution of axonally transported proteins was analyzed in the preterminal segments of preganglionic axons and in their caliciform nerve endings by means of quantitative light microscope radioautography. By 7 days after the injection of [3H]lysine, the concentration of labeled proteins in the preganglionic axons was either similar or slightly increased in acrylamide-treated chickens as compared to controls. In contrast, by 3 h, whereas the axons of controls were poorly radioactive, 20-30% of the axons in acrylamide-treated chickens displayed focal and intense labeling at their periphery; simultaneously, in acrylamide treated chickens, 20-30% of the nerve endings contained a decreased amount of radioactive proteins. It is concluded that acrylamide induces multifocal retention of fast axonally transported proteins in preterminal segments of certain axons.