Distribution Of Cholinesterase Research Articles

Spatial distribution differences of cholinesterase in healthy Chinese under the influence of geographical environmental factors.

The main targets of this were to screen the factors that may influence the distribution of cholinesterase (CHE) reference value in healthy people, and further explored the geographical distribution differences of CHE reference value in China. In this study, we collected the CHE data of 17,601 healthy people from 173 cities in China to analyse the correlation between CHE and 22 geography secondary indexes through spearman regression analysis. Six indexes with significant correlation were extracted, and a ridge regression model was built, and the country's urban CHE reference value of healthy Chinese was predicted. By using the disjunctive kriging method, we obtained the geographical distribution of CHE reference values for healthy people in China. The reference value of CHE for healthy Chinese was significantly correlated with the 6 secondary indexes, namely, latitude (°), altitude (m), annual average temperature (°C), annual average relative humidity (%) and annual precipitation (mm), and topsoil sand gravel percentage (% wt). The geographical distribution of CHE values of healthy Chinese showed a trend of being higher in southeast China and lower in northwest. This study lays a foundation for further research on the mechanism of different influencing factors on the reference value of CHE index. A ridge regression model composed of significant influencing factors has been established to provide the basis for formulating reference criteria for the treatment factors of the liver damage diseases and livercancer using CHE reference values in different regions.

Localization and Properties of Cholinesterases in the Common Prawn (Palaemon serratus): a Kinetic-Histochemical Study

Due to the diversity in biochemical properties and tissue distribution of cholinesterase (ChE) enzymes, a characterization should be performed before they are used as biomarkers for monitoring pesticide contamination. In this study we investigate the distribution of ChEs and their kinetic properties in diverse tissues of the common prawn Palaemon serratus. The results concerning the histochemical localization of ChEs suggest that the highest amount of ChE activity occurs in prawn eyes, followed by the brain, gills, and digestive tract. Negligible staining was observed in the muscle. We describe the kinetic properties of ChEs in eyes, gills, and hepatopancreas, investigating their substrate preferences with different thiocholine esters and their sensitivity to inhibition with selective inhibitors. The results suggest that the studied enzymes are ChEs and not nonspecific esterases, due to their apparent affinity for choline esters, with a distinct preference for the substrate acetylthiocholine, and their high sensitivity to inhibition by eserine sulfate. P. serratus eyes can be considered the best tissue for recovery of ChE enzyme: this tissue is easy to isolate, it expresses high levels of ChE, and the enzyme shows properties of a vertebrate AChE.

Tissue distribution of cholinesterases and anticholinesterases in native and transgenic tomato plants

Acetylcholinesterase, a major component of the central and peripheral nervous systems, is ubiquitous among multicellular animals, where its main function is to terminate synaptic transmission by hydrolyzing the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine. However, previous reports describe cholinesterase activities in several plant species and we present data for its presence in tomato plants. Ectopic expression of a recombinant form of the human enzyme and the expression pattern of the transgene and the accumulation of its product in transgenic tomato plants are described. Levels of acetylcholinesterase activity in different tissues are closely effected by and can be separated from alpha-tomatine, an anticholinesterase steroidal glycoalkaloid. The recombinant enzyme can also be separated from the endogenous cholinesterase activity by its subcellular localization and distinct biochemical properties. Our results provide evidence for the co-existence in tomato plants of both acetylcholinesterase activity and a steroidal glycoalkaloid with anticholinesterase activity and suggest spatial mutual exclusivity of these antagonistic activities. Potential functions, including roles in plant-pathogen interactions are discussed.

Psychopharmacology: Finding one's way

The paper recalls the experiences of the author over the past forty-eight years in a field which later became known as psychopharmacology. The author began in physical chemistry and traditional pharmacology. His interest in the nervous system stemmed from X-ray diffraction studies on the structure of living myelin, and led, by way of studies on the distribution of cholinesterases and the effects of atropine, to the study of the effects of drugs on the electrical activity of the brain in the conscious animal. At the clinical level it included studies of the effects of drugs on catatonic schizophrenic stupor. These studies took place before the discovery of chlorpromazine. They led to the creation, in 1951, of the Department of Experimental Psychiatry in Birmingham, England, the first department of its kind in the world. The department included neurochemical, electrophysiological, and animal behavior laboratories and a strong clinical facility (the Uffculme Clinic). The first blind trial of chlorpromazine was carried out in that department in 1953 and 1954. The existence of families of neuroregulatory compounds, having uneven distribution in the brain, and exerting regional chemical field effects in relation to function was postulated on the basis of experimental and clinical findings. The work of colleagues and participants in the various studies is gratefully acknowledged in the text. In 1954 the author served as convening executive secretary of the first International Symposium on Neurochemistry at Oxford, England, the first meeting of its kind. He came to the United States in 1957 and founded, and served as first director of, the new Clinical Neuropharmacology Research Center, now the Center for Neuroscience at St. Elizabeth's Hospital, Washington, DC. He directed this program from 1957 to 1963. Subsequent activities at Johns Hopkins, the World Health Organization, and the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) are recalled. In 1961 he was elected first president of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. In looking back, he notes the sparse and personal nature of the field in the late 1940s and early 1950s, its explosive growth in the wake of the major clinical discoveries, and above all, the emergence of a new science through the interaction of neurochemistry, electrophysiology, studies of animal behavior, and the refinement of the clinical trial. He regards the emergence of concepts of regional chemistry of the brain as particularly significant, and feels that psychopharmacology is ideally positioned to act as an intermediary between classical pharmacology and quantrum biology. The transdisciplinary nature of psychopharmacology provides a template for a comprehensive psychiatry of the future--a discipline which is now positioned to lead.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Localization of some neurotransmitters during developments hydroidomedusae

Neurotransmission in Cnidarians is known to occur mainly by peptidergic neuronal pathways; the role of cholinergic neurotransmission, that in other animals this involves both neurotransmission and developmental regulation, has never been shown with certainty. This histochemical-immunohistochemical study was performed, in different developmental stages of some hydroidomedusan species (characterized by different reproductive and developmental patterns) to investigate the presence and distribution of cholinesterase (ChE) activity, acetylcholine receptors, biogenic amines, and molecules immunologically related to secretory peptides (FMRF amide and VIP). The results showed that ChE (revealed by all the kinds of activities: AChE, PrChE, BuChE) is mainly present in developing or ‘juvenile’ structures. Biogenic amines are revealed by aldehyde-induced fluorescence at every stage studied, while peptide-like immunoreactivities are mainly present in differentiated structures. These findings support the hypothesis that all the chemical messengers here investigated arose very early in evolution, although, in some cases, with different functions. For most of the investigated species, similarities in the distribution pattern of markers generally reflect similarities in life cycle, rather than phylogenetic affinities.

Histochemical Distribution of Cholinesterase Activity in the Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System of the Catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis

The distribution of cholinesterase (ChE) activity was demonstrated in the hypothalamohypophyseal system of Heteropneustes fossilis using acetylthiocholine iodide as the substrate. Perikarya of neurons in nucleus lateralis tuberis and the periventricular region of the infundibular recess showed moderate to strong enzyme activity. In the midventral floor of the infundibular recess, the ependymal layer contained ChE-positive neurons, some of which contacted the ventricle. From these neurons, fine beaded axonal processes were seen to run across the fibrous layer close to ChE-positive capillaries. The blood vessels and capillaries in the external palisade layer also showed intense enzyme activity. The distributional pattern of ChE strongly suggests homology of the region with the median eminence of tetrapods. In the pituitary, the neurohypophysis was generally free of enzyme activity except for some displaced neurons, pituicytes, and capillaries. The hypophyseal blood vessels and capillaries showed strong enzyme activity which varied regionally.

Anatomy of cholinesterase inhibition in Alzheimer's disease: effect of physostigmine and tetrahydroaminoacridine on plaques and tangles.

The histochemical distribution of cholinesterases in the cerebral cortex and their response to cholinesterase inhibitors such as physostigmine and tetrahydroaminoacridine (THA) were investigated in brains from patients with Alzheimer's disease and control subjects. In the temporal neocortex of the control subjects, most of the cholinesterase activity was located within axons and cell bodies belonging to cholinergic pathways. In keeping with their well-known cholinomimetic effects, physostigmine and THA effectively inhibited this cholinesterase activity. Cholinesterase-containing normal axons (and in some cases cells) were severely depleted in the cerebral cortex of patients with Alzheimer's disease. Although the cerebral cortex of these patients continued to display abundant cholinesterase activity, the location of this enzyme was largely shifted to the neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. In fact, the majority of these pathological structures demonstrated intense acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase activities. Physostigmine and THA were potent inhibitors of these plaque- and tangle-bound cholinesterases as well. In patients with Alzheimer's disease, cholinesterase inhibitors would therefore appear to have a major and widespread effect directly upon the enzymatic activity of plaques and tangles. Consequently, the clinical effects of anticholinesterases in Alzheimer's disease may be based on mechanisms that are different from those that apply to the normal brain.

Distribution of cholinesterase in canine venous system.

Cholinesterase (ChE) activity was examined in 15 veins from dogs by pharmacological and histochemical procedures. Potentiation of acetylcholine (ACh)-induced contractile response by neostigmine was observed in helical and longitudinal strips of portal, mesenteric veins and middle segment of the inferior vena cava, but not in the other 12 veins. Histochemical studies with an electron-microscope (the method of Karnovsky-Roots) revealed that ChE activity was identified as high density granules around the smooth muscle cells only in the former three veins. The visible ChE activity was abolished by pretreatment with neostigmine.

Distribution of Cholinesterase in Canine Venous System

Cholinesterase (ChE) activity was examined in 15 veins from dogs by pharmacological and histochemical procedures. Potentiation of acetylcholine (ACh)-induced contractile response by neostigmine was observed in helical and longitudinal strips of portal, mesenteric veins and middle segment of the inferior vena cava, but not in the other 12 veins. Histochemical studies with an electron-microscope (the method of Karnovsky-Roots) revealed that ChE activity was identified as high density granules around the smooth muscle cells only in the former three veins. The visible ChE activity was abolished by pretreatment with neostigmine.

Antagonism of diisopropyl fluorophosphate (DFP) poisoning by carbamate pretreatments in house flies ( musca domestica L.)

1. Pretreatments with the carbamates mobam and pyridostigmine, but not neostigmine, “protected” house flies against the lethality of diisopropyl fluorophosphate (DFP). 2. Histochemical evidence demonstrated that DFP, when administered to flies by injection of a dose of 50 ng/fly (spld 95), inactivated cholinesterase throughout the fused lobes of the compound thoracic ganglia. 3. Flies pretreated with pyridostigmine and challenged with 50 ng of DFP ( ld 95) recovered from poisoning by 1 hr post-treatment. 4. The thoracic ganglia removed at 1 hr from recovered flies had a cholinesterase distribution similar to control (saline-treated) flies. 5. In contrast, flies pretreated with neostigmine before DFP challenge did not fully recover from poisoning by 1 hr and did not survive to 24 hr. 6. The thoracic ganglia removed from these flies contained active cholinesterase sites only in the mesothoracic lobe of the fused ganglion.

Localization of acetylcholine receptors and cholinesterase on nerve- contacted and noncontacted muscle cells grown in the presence of agents that block action potentials

The possible role of nerve activity in triggering changes in the localization of acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) and cholinesterase (ChE) on nerve-contacted Xenopus muscle cells has been assessed. The localization of these molecules was examined on nerve-contacted and noncontacted muscle cells in cultures of spinal cord and myotomal muscle derived from Xenopus embryos. Sites of high AChR density were revealed by staining with fluorescent alpha-bungarotoxin and sites of ChE localization were revealed histochemically. Localization of AChRs and ChE at sites of nerve-muscle contact occurred when the culture medium contained 1.2 micron tetrodotoxin (TTX), 1.2 micron TTX, 10 mM magnesium, and no calcium salts, 1.2 micron TTX and 2 mM manganese, or 106 mM potassium methyl sulfate instead of sodium chloride. The nerve-contacted muscle cells in each of these modified culture media also exhibited a reduced incidence of AChR and ChE patches away from the site of contact. It is concluded that the neural factor(s) that triggers the local and remote changes in AChR and ChE distribution can be supplied to the neurites and externalized in the absence of nerve impulses, and that the nerve and muscle cells can interact even when they are largely depolarized.

The distribution of cholinesterase and cytochrome oxidase within the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus of the squirrel monkey

Within the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) of the squirrel monkey, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and cytochrome oxidase (CO) are distributed preferentially in the magnocellular layers. Butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) activity is comparatively weak, but higher in the parvocellular than in the magnocellular layers. The different patterns of distribution of AChE within the dLGN in different primate species signify differences in geniculate organization, which may reflect adaptation to different visual habitats.

Widespread occurrence of cholinesterase activity in plant leaves

In contrast to previous work, the distribution of cholinesterase was found to be ubiquitous in plant leaves. Cholinesterase activity was detected in 91% of the 70 species surveyed from 50 higher plants and three families of ferns. A radiometric assay was used to determine the hydrolysis of acetylcholine by leaf tissue slices in the presence and absence of 29 μM diisopropyl phosphofluoridate. The results obtained using this inhibitor as a criterion for cholinesterase activity were found to be consistent with previous studies using neostigmine as the inhibitor although there were some quantitative differences between the inhibitors. With some of the tested plants acetyl‐β‐methylcholine was also hydrolyzed, indicating that acetylcholinesterase rather than pseudocholinesterase was present at least in these cases. These findings demonstrate that the relative activity of cholinesterase in leaves can serve as an indicator of organophosphorous anticholinesterase contamination of the environment.

Short time observations of morphological changes and cholinesterase distribution in lymphatic organs of the mouse after corticosteroid and x-ray treatment

The changes in thymus, spleen and lymph nodes of the mouse after a single cortisone application or a single whole body x-irradiation were investigated morphologically and histochemically. During 24 h the alterations following the cortisone application are at all stages examined indistinguishable from those following the x-irradiation. The first signs of lymphocyte destruction can be observed already in the first two hours after treatment. Almost at the same time macrophages accumulate at the sites of cell death in the lymphatic organs studied. The eosinophils display a different behaviour. While they accompany the macrophages in the thymus already at the first stages, they appear in the spleen and lymph nodes with a latency of 6 and 8 h, respectively. The highest amount of necrotic cells is found ten hours after both treatments. At the same time the accumulation of macrophages and eosinophils reaches its maximum. The cholinesterase in the lymphatic organs is largely the true cholinesterase. The enzyme-activity increases in the cortex of the thymus gradually 6 h after treatment, showing the highest deposit of reaction product at 10 h. In spleen and lymph nodes the cholinesterase shows only slight variations. The possible role of the cholinesterase-activity in these non-cholinergic tissues is discussed.

Changes in cholinesterase activity of muscle after crushing the sciatic nerve of rats

The subcellular distribution of cholinesterase (ChE) was studied in the gastrocnemius muscle of rats after strong or weak nerve crushing. The ChE activities of muscle were decreased to a greater extent by strong crushing than by weak crushing. In particular, the ChE activity of the fraction containing sarcoplasmic reticulum was most greatly decreased. These results suggest that the change in the ChE activity of the microsomal fraction most finely reflects the strength of nerve crushing.

Species variation in the distribution of cholinesterases in the ovary of the plains viscacha, cat, ferret, rabbit, rat, guinea-pig and roe deer.

Sections of ovary from plains viscacha, cat, ferret, rabbit, rat, guinea-pig and roe deer have been histochemically processed to demonstrate acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) in nervous and non-nervous tissue. The effects of different reproductive states on enzyme activity were observed in some animals. AChE-containing nerves were sparse in rabbit and rat but plentiful in cat and roe deer. Nerves containing BuChE were not detectable in ferret or guinea-pig and were rare in cat. Species variations in the activity and type of enzyme were also found in non-neuronal tissues. Some blood vessels in the ovaries of guinea-pig and viscacha contained AChE. No other species showed a reaction for AChE in non-neuronal stromal tissue but BuChE was present at this site in all animals except rat. Granulosa cells reacted for AChE only in cat and rabbit while luteal cells were reactive in cat, rabbit and roe deer. Some BuChE activity was present in granulosa and or luteal cells in all species except roe deer. In rat, BuChE activity in luteal cells increased during pregnancy and the early phase of pseudopregnancy. The difficulty of assigning a function to ovarian cholinesterases is discussed.

Studies on the distribution of cholinesterases: activity in the human and dog heart.

The distribution and postnatal variation of cholinesterase (ChE) activity were studied in 25 human and 25 dog hearts. The observed distribution pattern is remarkably constant, In dog hearts, the pattern is as follows: sinus node (SN) greater than left atrium (LA) greater than right atrium (RA) greater than right ventricle (RV) congruent to left ventricle (LV). The average acetylcholinesterase (AcChE) activities as expressed in international units per g wet tissue are: 1.66 (SN), 1.14 (LA), 0.70 (RA), 0.22 (RV), and 0.21 (LV). In human hearts, the AcChE distribution follows the pattern of RA greater than LA greater than RV congruent to LV with corresponding average activities of 1.70, 1.38, 0.51, and 0.44 IU. The postnatal variation of ChE activity is most pronounced in the RS of the heart in both species. The average AcChE activity in the RA of the newborn puppies is 0.51 IU as compared with 2.27 IU in newborn infants. In the adult heart, however, the average atrial AcChE activity is nearly identical (1.02 IU) in both species. An additional difference is the large (34-64%) contribution of butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) to the total activity in dog hearts whereas the contribution of BuChE is small (7-15%) in human hearts.

Studies on the Distribution of Cholinesterases

Studies on the Distribution of Cholinesterases

Neurohistological and histochemical observations on the lung of Francolinus pondicerianus (gray partridge or safed teeter) as revealed by the cholinesterase technique.

An investigation was undertaken to demonstrate the neural elements of the lung of Francolinus pondicerianus, from the point of view of neurohistology and histochemistry. The staining of the neural elements was done by the cholinesterase technique with a maintained pH of 5.2, temperature 40 degrees C and incubation period of 19 h. Distribution of nerves in association with bronchial cartilage, pulmonary vessels and bronchi has been described and discussed. The distribution of the ganglia in association with blood vessels, bronchi, cartilage, various plexuses and the neural terminal terminal network has also been described. The innervation of the bronchi and their branches, and formation of the neural terminal network has been studied, as well as the distribution of cholinesterase in bronchi, blood vessels, muscles, ganglia, and nerve fibres.

Chemical Aspect of the Thalamus of the Rhesus Monkeys

Thalamic lesions failed to affect the biosynthesis and storage of monoamines on the lesion side of the striatum of normal monkeys and of monkeys with ventromedial tegmental lesions. Distribution of cholinesterase in histochemical coronal, horizontal and sagittal sections suggest a strong chemical modulation of thalamic activity from basal ganglia and related structures projecting to neo- and paleostriatum. It is suggested that the thalamus is the second or third order modulator of the brain.