Balanced dopaminergic cholinergic interactions are crucial for proper basal ganglia function. This is dramatically demonstrated by the worsening of Parkinson's disease symptoms following acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition. Typically, in the brain, the synapse-anchored synaptic AChE (AChE-S) variant is prevalent whereas the soluble readthrough AChE (AChE-R) variant is induced in response to ...

To explore neuronal mechanisms underlying long-term consequences of stress, we studied stress-induced changes in the neuritic translocation of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) splice variants. Under normal conditions, we found the synaptic AChE-S mRNA and protein in neurites. Corticosterone, anticholinesterases, and forced swim, each facilitated a rapid (minutes), yet long-lasting (weeks), shift fro...

This study tested the hypothesis that repeated exposure to low levels of sarin, pyridostigmine bromide (PB) or their combination, at doses equivalent to those possibly experienced by veterans of the 1991 Persian Gulf War, could lead to persistent or delayed autonomic effects and thus help to explain the cause of clinical findings in this population. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated for 3 w...

Administration of oxime therapy is currently the standard approach used to reverse the acute toxicity of organophosphorus (OP) compounds, which is usually attributed to OP inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Rate constants for reactivation of OP-inhibited AChE by even the best oximes, such as HI-6 and obidoxime, can vary >100-fold between OP-AChE conjugates that are easily reactivated an...

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) occurs in both asymmetric forms, covalently associated with a collagenous subunit called Q (ColQ), and globular forms that may be either soluble or membrane associated. At the skeletal neuromuscular junction, asymmetric AChE is anchored to the basal lamina of the synaptic cleft, where it hydrolyzes acetylcholine to terminate synaptic transmission. AChE has also been ...

BACKGROUND Organophosphate pesticides affect mammalian brain development through mechanisms separable from the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) enzymatic activity and resultant cholinergic hyperstimulation. In the brain, AChE has two catalytically similar splice variants with distinct functions in development and repair. The rare, read-through isoform, AChE-R, is preferentially induced...

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) exerts noncatalytic activities on neural cell differentiation, adhesion, and neuritogenesis independently of its catalytic function. The noncatalytic functions of AChE have been attributed to its peripheral anionic site (PAS)-mediated protein-protein interactions. Structurally, AChE is highly homologous to the extracellular domain of neuroligin, a postsynaptic transm...

BACKGROUND Peripheral anionic site (PAS) blockade of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) notably affects neuronal activity and cyto-architecture, however, the mechanism(s) involved are incompletely understood. OBJECTIVE We wished to specify the PAS extracellular effects on specific AChE mRNA splice variants, delineate the consequent cellular remodeling events, and explore the inhibitory effects on in...

The expression of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in skeletal muscle is regulated by muscle activity; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms are incompletely understood. We show here that the expression of the synaptic collagen-tailed AChE form (ColQ-AChE) in quail muscle cultures can be regulated by muscle activity post-translationally. Inhibition of thiol oxidoreductase activity decreases e...

PURPOSE A virtual screening study has suggested that the skeletal muscle relaxant, dantrolene, and the antiemetic drug, ondansetron, may act as inhibitors of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Based on this proposal, the current study examines the AChE inhibitory properties of these drugs. METHODS AND FINDINGS Using AChE from human erythrocytes as enzyme source, it is shown that dantrole...