Effect of ethyl alcohol on sympathetic nerve cells in cultures

Sympathetic chain ganglia of newborn rats were cultured in Rose chambers and their structure was registered, examined and photographed with a phase contrast microscope. When 0.5% (v/v) (86 mM) ethanol was present in the culture medium from the start of culture, the nerve cell bodies appeared similar to those in control cultures for at least a week and there was a normal outgrowth of a nerve fibre network. Higher concentrations had a progessively deleterious effect, 1% (171 mM) ethanol causing the appearance of degenerating cells and 2% (343 mM) ethanol killing all the nerve cells in 4 days. Some nerve cells survived 4 days in the presence of 1.5% (275 mM) ethanol in the culture medium, although most cells died in 2 days. When ethanol was added to cultures grown for 7 days in a control medium, concentration of 0.5% ethanol in the medium had no apparent effect, while most nerve cells died within a week in 1% ethanol, and all cells were dead already after 24 hours in 2% ethanol. It is concluded that ethanol exhibits a remarkably low toxicity towards living nerve cells.