title: Functional analysis and molecular characterization of two acetylcholinesterases from the German cockroach, Blattella germanica.
abstract: Two acetylcholinesterases (AChEs; BgAChE1 and BgAChE2) from Blattella germanica were functionally expressed using the baculovirus system. Kinetic analysis demonstrated that BgAChE2 had higher catalytic efficiency but lower substrate specificity than BgAChE1. With the exceptions of paraoxon and propoxur, BgAChE1 was generally less sensitive to inhibitors than BgAChE2. Western blot analysis using anti-BgAChE antibodies revealed that BgAChE1 was far more abundant in all examined tissues compared to BgAChE2, which is only present in the central nervous system. Both BgAChEs existed in dimeric form, covalently connected via a disulphide bridge under native conditions. Most fractions of BgAChE1 had a glycophosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor, but a small fraction comprised a collagen-like tail. BgAChE2 appeared to have a collagen-GPI-fused tail. Based on the kinetic and molecular properties, tissue distribution and abundance, BgAChE1 was confirmed to play a major role in postsynaptic transmission.
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Y H
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: J Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Y H
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Je
authors.forename: Y H
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Koh
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000110:Acetylcholinesterase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D003058:Cockroaches / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics*; D004789:Enzyme Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D007700:Kinetics; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D000110:Acetylcholinesterase