Abstract
Differences in the levels of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in ventral and dorsal spinal roots can be used to differentiate the spinal nerves. Although many methods are available to assay AChE, a rapid and sensitive method has not been previously developed. Here, we describe an antibody-based quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) assay and its application for the quantification of AChE in the solutions of ventral and dorsal spinal roots. The frequency variation of the QCM device corresponds to the level of AChE over a wide dynamic range (0.5–10 µg/ml), which is comparable to the response range of the ELISA method. The frequency shift caused by the ventral roots is 3-fold greater than that caused by the dorsal roots. The antibody-based QCM sensor was stable across many successive replicate samples, and the method required less than 10 min, including the AChE extraction and analysis steps. This method is a rapid and convenient means for the quantification of AChE in biological samples and may be applicable for distinguishing the ventral and dorsal roots during surgical operations.
Highlights
Peripheral nerve injury is very common both in wartime due to firearm injuries and in peacetime due to other activities
If the motor and sensory tracts of the peripheral nerves are not coapted correctly during neuroanastomosis, the regenerated motor fibers will not grow onto their corresponding terminals, and the sensory fibers will fail to grow into the spinal cord, leading to the loss of sensory and motor function
The main difference between the motor and sensory fibers is that acetylcholine is the neurotransmitter in the motor fibers, whereas substance P is the neurotransmitter in the sensory fibers [3,23]
Summary
Peripheral nerve injury is very common both in wartime due to firearm injuries and in peacetime due to other activities. If the motor and sensory tracts of the peripheral nerves are not coapted correctly during neuroanastomosis, the regenerated motor fibers will not grow onto their corresponding terminals, and the sensory fibers will fail to grow into the spinal cord, leading to the loss of sensory and motor function. Various methods have been proposed to detect and examine the nerve tracts, including anatomic [1], thiocholinergic [2], electrophysiological [3], radioisotopic [4], histochemical [5], and immunohistochemical [6] methods. These procedures often require several days to obtain results
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