Regulation of acetylcholinesterase in cultured chick embryo spinal cord neurons.

Primary nerve cell cultures contain acetylcholinesterase (AChE: EC 3 .l .1.7) and other special macromolecules associated with cholinergic transmission [l--4 J . Cultured chick nerve cells, like cultured muscle, have been shown to release AChE into their medium [ 5 $1. The experiments presented here examined the levels of activity and release of AChE in nerve cell cultures after treatment with di-isopropylphospho~uoridate (DFP) and acetylchol~e analogs. The results confirm that dissociated chick embryo spinal cord cells release AC&E and demonstrate that the cells regulate their level of AChE activity in response to chemical treatments.