title: Molecular forms of acetylcholinesterase in pineal cell and sympathetic neuronal cultures.
abstract: The activities of the various molecular forms of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) were measured in monolayer cultures of neonatal rat pineal cells grown alone and in co-culture with sympathetic neurons. AChE forms characterized by sedimentation coefficients of 4S, 6.5S, and 10S were found in he neuronal and pineal cultures, as well as in the co-cultures. The 16S AChE form was found only in the neuronal cultures. Total AChE activity increased with culture age in the co-cultures, but it decreased in pineal cells cultured alone. The low level of activity present in the neuronal cultures did not change markedly over the 27-day culture period. These results, which show bidirectional neuron-pineal cell effects, suggest that AChE molecular forms may be important markers to study the mechanisms underlying neuron-target cell interaction in the developing sympathetic nervous system.
mesh_terms: D000110:Acetylcholinesterase / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase / Q000378:metabolism; D005728:Ganglia, Sympathetic / Q000201:enzymology*; D007700:Kinetics; D009474:Neurons / Q000201:enzymology*; D010870:Pineal Gland / Q000201:enzymology*; D051381:Rats; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase; D000110:Acetylcholinesterase