Effects of Centrophenoxine on Lipofuscin Formation in Neuroblastoma Cells in Culture

C1300 mouse neuroblastoma cells in culture were used to study cytoplasmic lipofuscin pigment accumulation and the ability of centrophenoxine to alter its formation. The pigment was detected by its autofluorescence, by histochemical staining for acid phosphatase, and by positive staining with the periodic acid schiff procedure. The percentage of cells with pigment increased from 25% at 5 days of culture to 60% at 25 days of culture. Pigment formation was enhanced by treatment for 9 days with either 1.1 × 10−5M papaverine or 5.6 × 10−5M prostaglandin E1. Pigment formation in papaverinetreated cells was markedly reduced by treatment for 9 days with either 1.0 or 3.4 × 10−4M centrophenoxine. It is concluded that neuroblastoma cells in culture provide an in vitro model with which to study lipofuscin pigment formation and its manipulation by pharmacological agents.