Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) mRNA levels are severalfold higher in fast rat muscles compared with slow. We hypothesized that AChE mRNA levels and AChE activity in the neuromuscular junction depend on a specific nerve-induced pattern of motor unit activation. Chronic low-frequency stimulation, mimicking the activation pattern in slow muscles, was applied to fast muscles in rats. Molecular forms o...

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) has been increasingly recognized in plants by indirect evidence of its activity. Here, we report purification and cloning of AChE from maize (Zea mays), thus providing to our knowledge the first direct evidence of the AChE molecule in plants. AChE was identified as a mixture of disulfide- and noncovalently linked 88-kD homodimers consisting of 42- to 44-kD polypeptid...

Linarin is a flavone glycoside in the plants Flos chrysanthemi indici, Buddleja officinalis, Cirsium setosum, Mentha arvensis and Buddleja davidii, and has been reported to possess analgesic, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective activities. In this paper, linarin was investigated for its AChE inhibitory potential both in vitro and ex vivo. Ellman’s colorimetric method was used for...

Accumulated evidence attributes noncatalytic morphogenic activitie(s) to acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Despite sequence homologies, functional overlaps between AChE and catalytically inactive AChE-like cell surface adhesion proteins have been demonstrated only for the Drosophila protein neurotactin. Furthermore, no mechanism had been proposed to enable signal transduction by AChE, an extracellul...

PURPOSE To study the involvement of stress-induced acetylcholinesterase (AChE) expression in light-induced retinal damage in albino rats. METHODS Adult albino rats were exposed for 24 hours to bright, damaging light. AChE expression was monitored by in situ hybridization, by histochemistry for AChE activity, and by immunocytochemistry. An orphan antisense agent (Monarsen; Ester Neurosciences,...

To clarify the effect of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) on the pathogenesis of airway hyperresponsiveness, AChE activities in tracheal smooth muscle and lung tissue from congenitally bronchial-hypersensitive (BHS) and bronchial-hyposensitive (BHR) guinea pigs were compared. For this purpose, AChE activities were determined by measuring the rate of absorbance of tissue homogenate. Relative amounts ...

In this work, the ability of four newly synthesized oximes--K005 (1,3-bis(2-hydroxyiminomethylpyridinium) propane dibromide), K027 (1-(4-hydroxyiminomethylpyridinium)-3-(4-carbamoylpyridinium) propane dibromide), K033 (1,4-bis(2-hydroxyiminomethylpyridinium) butane dibromide) and K048 (1-(4-hydroxyiminomethylpyridinium)-4-(4-carbamoylpyridinium) butane dibromide) to reactivate acetylcholinester...

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) accumulates on axonal varicosities and is primarily found as tetramers associated with a proline-rich membrane anchor (PRiMA). PRiMA is a small transmembrane protein that efficiently transforms secreted AChE to an enzyme anchored on the outer cell surface. Surprisingly, in the striatum of the PRiMA knock-out mouse, despite a normal level of AChE mRNA, we find only 2-...

Acetylcholinesterase (AchE) is a large glycoprotein that, aside from its known cholinolytic activity, co-exists with other transmitter systems and possesses other functions. In the present study, the effects of short-term rapid-eye-movement sleep deprivation (REM-SD) on AchE activity in the anterior hypothalamic area have been investigated. Using the flower-pot method, adult male albino ra...