ABSTRACT
H. Gotoh and T. Takenaka reported the reactivation of particle movements and effects of drugs on axonal transport in saponin-treated axons. Movements of transported particles in tissue cultured nerve cells were observed under Nomarski optics and analyzed with video system. Morphological changes of the neurites after exposure to colchicine or vinblastine were examined by Nomarski optics. The places where wondering movement occurs in saltatory correspond to the swollen places. These places might be the junctions of tracks where the particles have to change from one tracks to a succeding one in order to continue their travel. R. Adams punctured holes in the plasma membrane of giant axons from crab legs by a high voltage discharge and succeeded in reactivation of the particle movement. The development of video-enhanced microscopy with a computer frame memory has brought a more precise study of particle movements in axon.
