title: Selective presynaptic cholinergic neurotoxicity following intrahippocampal AF64A injection in rats.
abstract: Compound AF64A, ethylcholine mustard aziridinium ion (0.4-8 nmol) was stereotaxically administered into rat dorsal hippocampus, and neurochemical changes were determined 5 days later. AF64A treatment, over an almost 10-fold dose range, resulted in a significant (up to 70%) decline in choline acetyltransferase activity. In the same tissue samples, Na+-dependent choline transport activity was also lowered, with most decreases ranging between 10 and 50% of controls; however, there was no significant correlation (r = 0.39) between these two parameters. Acetylcholinesterase activity was not affected by AF64A treatment when assayed by either histochemical or enzymatic methods. AF64A reduced acetylcholine levels by 43%, but did not alter norepinephrine content or serotonin uptake. These results demonstrate that AF64A can induce a specific, long-term reduction of cholinergic presynaptic biochemical markers in rat hippocampus. Thus, AF64A can serve as a useful new tool to study the cholinergic system and as an important agent to help develop animal models representing disorders of central cholinergic hypofunction.
mesh_terms: D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000378:metabolism*; D000110:Acetylcholinesterase / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001388:Aziridines / Q000633:toxicity*; D001389:Azirines / Q000633:toxicity*; D001692:Biological Transport; D002794:Choline / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase / Q000378:metabolism; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D007700:Kinetics; D008297:Male; D009466:Neuromuscular Blocking Agents / Q000633:toxicity*; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012964:Sodium / Q000494:pharmacology; D013569:Synapses / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D001388:Aziridines; D001389:Azirines; D009466:Neuromuscular Blocking Agents; D012964:Sodium; C044894:ethylcholine aziridinium; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase; D000110:Acetylcholinesterase; D002794:Choline; D000109:Acetylcholine; D009638:Norepinephrine