Anticholinesterase activity of organophosphate nerve agents in neuronal tissue culture.
Primary chick embryo forebrain culture was examined with respect to its usefulness as a model to study organophosphate (OP) anticholinesterases. The acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity of these cultures increased with time in culture and paralleled the development in ovo of this enzyme. The neuronal cells were extremely sensitive to the anticholinesterase effects of OP nerve agents, and experiments with soman indicated that enzyme inhibition was rapid and persistent. The potencies of several OP nerve agents as inhibitors of AChE activity in vitro paralleled their literature-reported toxicities in vivo.
Sawyer
T W
TW
Biomedical Defence Section, Defence Research Establishment Suffield, Box 4000, Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada T1A 8K6.
Weiss
M T
MT
Unger
R J
RJ