The ultrastructure of mouse neuroblastoma cells in tissue culture.
Neuroblastoma cells grown in suspension culture are round and have no distinctive structural characteristics. However, cells transferred to substrates flatten, develop long neurites, and assume the morphology of normal neurons. The resemblance of monolayered neuroblastoma cells to normal neurons is amplified by treatment with hypertonic medium; under these conditions, cell division is inhibited and the neurites become long and differentiated. The treated cells contain clusters of clear vesicles, 400-600 A in diameter, which are morphologically indistinguishable from the synaptic vesicles of normal neurons. Specialized cell contacts are observed between the treated cells as well as between confluent cells grown in normal medium.
D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002455:Cell Division; D002460:Cell Line; D002999:Clone Cells; D003470:Culture Media; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000648:ultrastructure; D003712:Dendrites / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006982:Hypertonic Solutions; D007181:Inclusion Bodies, Viral; D007365:Intercellular Junctions / Q000648:ultrastructure; D051379:Mice; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D009447:Neuroblastoma / Q000473:pathology*; D009454:Neurofibrils / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009474:Neurons / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D009940:Organoids / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013572:Synaptic Vesicles / Q000648:ultrastructure
D003470:Culture Media; D006982:Hypertonic Solutions