Biochemical effects of denervation on normal and dystrophic muscle: Acetylcholinesterase and choline acetyltransferase

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The activities of AChE and ChAc in homogenates from normal, dystrophic and denervated (3–46 days) mouse gastrocnemii have been reported. When the results are expressed per muscle, AChE activity in normal muscle was 4-fold higher than dystrophic muscle. After denervation the decrease in AChE activity in the normal series paralleled the loss of muscle weight; in the dystrophic series the loss of activity was greater than loss of muscle weight. ChAc activity was approximately 2-fold higher in normal muscle than in dystrophic muscle. After denervation ChAc activity decreased more than 90% in both normal and dystrophic muscle. In both types of muscle a return of enzyme activity was observed after 28 days of denervation.