title: Immunocytochemical demonstration of axonal and perikaryal acetylcholinesterase in human cerebral cortex.
abstract: The adult human neocortex contains a dense net of axons and perikarya which yield an acetylcholinesterase-rich enzymatic reaction pattern in histochemical experiments. We employed a monoclonal antibody to human acetylcholinesterase and a method for the concurrent visualization of histochemical and immunohistochemical reaction-products to explore the relationship between immunological and enzymatic markers of acetylcholinesterase. We observed that the cortical axons and perikarya with a histochemically determined acetylcholinesterase-rich enzymatic activity also contain acetylcholinesterase-like immunoreactivity. This was especially informative for the intracortical acetylcholinesterase-rich perikarya of layers III and V since these neurons require prolonged incubations for histochemical detection and since they are not conspicuous in other animal species. The availability of a reliable immunohistochemical method makes it possible to investigate the distribution of the acetylcholinesterase enzyme molecule independent of its enzymatic activity.
authors.affiliation: Bullard and Denny-Brown Laboratories, Division of Neuroscience and Behavioral Neurology, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Mesulam
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Geula
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cosgrove
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mash
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brimijoin
mesh_terms: D000110:Acetylcholinesterase / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D000328:Adult; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D001369:Axons / Q000201:enzymology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology*; D005260:Female; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000201:enzymology; D011489:Protein Denaturation
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000110:Acetylcholinesterase