Microtubule arrays in taxol-treated mouse dorsal root ganglion-spinal cord cultures.

Exposure of organotypic dorsal root ganglion-spinal cord cultures to taxol, a potent microtubule promoting and stabilizing agent, results in an unusual abundance of microtubules in neurons, and the presence of microtubule-endoplasmic reticulum arrays in their perikarya and processes. Ordered concentric arrays of microtubules alternating with marcromolecular material are observed in dorsal root ganglion neurites. Short linear structures are discernible between some microtubules and the macromolecular material, as well as between microtubules and endoplasmic reticulum cisternae. Analyses of such unusual microtubule arrays in taxol-treated cultures may provide valuable insights into tubulin-related systems in neurons, as well as in other cells.