Induction of paracrystalline arrays by vincristine in the synaptic formations of the teleost retina.

After injection of 10 microliter 10(-3) M vincristine into the vitreous body of the eye of the rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri, Richardson), paracrystalline arrays in cell bodies, cell processes and presynaptic formations of the retina cells were observed. The structures resemble the paracrystalline lattice identified by several authors as microtubular protein. The paracrystals in both microtubule-rich cell processes and in synaptic areas, which show only a few or no microtubules, appear to be equivalent. The synaptic paracrystals are suggested to arise from both soluble tubulin and synaptic vesicles, indicating a functional role of tubulin in synaptic transmission.