title: Butyrylcholinesterase activity in the developing auditory brainstem, the choroid plexus and the pituitary of the perinatal rat.
abstract: The butyrylcholinesterase activity in the vasculature of the brain, choroid plexus, and pituitary, was studied histochemically in rats during postnatal days 1, 7, 14, 21 and 28. The brainstem auditory nuclei were used for comparison of vessels at different ages. We found intense butyrylcholinesterase activity in all intraparenchymal blood vessels, especially capillaries, in all ages. In the meningeal vessels, activity was especially prominent in 1 and 7 day old animals when the perineural meninges was relatively thick. In the pituitary, reaction for the enzyme was found in nonvascular elements, especially in the intermediate and posterior lobes. Vessels of the choroid plexus were associated with punctate regions of butyrylcholinesterase activity. These results do not support the suggestion of a major role for butyrylcholinesterase in the blood-brain barrier.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Krupnik
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Paterson
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000254:growth & development*; D002091:Butyrylcholinesterase / Q000378:metabolism*; D002196:Capillaries / Q000378:metabolism; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000502:physiology; D002831:Choroid Plexus / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000254:growth & development*; D006309:Hearing / Q000502:physiology; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000254:growth & development*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D002091:Butyrylcholinesterase