A stereotaxic method of tissue sampling has been developed permitting detailed studies of the distribution of choline acetyltransferase (CAT) in brains from controls and from patients suffering from Huntington's chorea. The characteristic pattern of CAT distribution within extra-pyramidal structures is described. In Huntington's chorea, CAT is unevenly reduced in several brain regions particula...

Choline acetyltransferase was demonstrated in nettles (Urtica dioica), peas (Pisum sativum), spinach (Spinacia oleracea), sunflower (Helianthus annuus) and blue--green algae by using a Sepharose--CoASH affinity column. The column effected a 1500-fold purification of the enzyme from nettle homogenates and was required for demonstrating activity in the other higher plants. Demonstration of the en...

The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of normal humans contains both true and pseudocholinesterases and choline acetyl transferase (choline acetylase) detectable by radiochemical assay. Elevations of total cholinesterase, pseudocholinesterase, and true cholinesterase occur in brain tumors, meningitis, Guillain-Barre disease, hydrocephalus, and brain abscess. However, the non-specificity and inconstancy...

A diffusion-reaction, two-compartment model was used to explore the bifurcation and chaotic behavior of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and cholineacetyltransferase (ChAT) coupled enzymes system. The effects of hydrogen ion feed concentrations, choline (Ch) and acetylcholine (ACh) feed concentrations, as bifurcation parameters on the system performance are studied. It is found that hydrogen ions pl...

OBJECTIVE To determine whether higher brain levels of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) are associated with improved neuropsychological function in patients with Alzheimer disease (AD). DESIGN Case series with single-blind post hoc analysis of biopsy specimens. SETTING Urban hospital and medical school. PATIENTS A consecutive sample of 8 patients with AD undergoing brain biopsy and surgica...

The choline required for synthesis of acetylcholine is derived exogenously by Aplysia ganglia. Under physiological conditions choline was taken up primarlily by neuropile and nerves and not by cholinergic cell bodies. In addition, compared with their contents of choline acetyltransferase, those components of nervous tissue which contain nerve terminals and axons synthesized acetylcholine far m...

The intrinsic cardiac autonomic nervous system (CANS), which is formed by interconnected clusters of ganglia called ganglionated plexi (GP), has been found to play a key role in the onset and maintenance atrial fibrillation (AF). ability GP neurons change parasympathetic activity suggests that synaptic plasticity occurs at synapses generated on neurons. Such changes could be source maladaptive ...

The biosynthetic enzyme for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) (E.C. 2.3.1.6), is essential for the development and neuronal activities of cholinergic systems involved in many fundamental brain functions. ChAT catalyzes the transfer of an acetyl group from acetyl-coenzyme A to choline to form the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Since its discovery more than 60 ...

Choline acetyltransferase is the enzyme that catalyzes the biosynthesis of acetylcholine, the neurotransmitter of the pre- and postganglionic parasympathetic system. To assess the extent of parasympathetic innervation, enzyme activity was measured in specialized and contractile regions throughout the guinea pig heart. Enzyme activity in the right atrial appendage was 137 nmol g(-1) hr(-1). Acti...

A number of immunocytochemical studies have indicated the presence of cholinergic neurons in the cerebral cortex of various species of mammals. Whether such cholinergic neurons in the human cerebral cortex are exclusively of subcortical origin is still debated. In this immunocytochemical study, the existence of cortical cholinergic neurons was investigated on surgical samples of human parietal ...