The release of labelled acetylcholine and choline from cerebral cortical slices stimulated electrically

Br J Pharmacol. 1974 Dec;52(4):499-507. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1974.tb09717.x.

Abstract

1 In order to establish the origin of the increased efflux of radioactivity caused by electrical stimulation of cerebral cortical slices which had been incubated with [(3)H]-choline, labelled choline and acetylcholine (ACh) collected by superfusion were separated by gold precipitation.2 In the presence of physostigmine electrical stimulation (1 Hz, 10 min) increased the release of only [(3)H]-ACh which was greatly enhanced by the addition of atropine.3 Continuous stimulation in the presence of physostigmine resulted in an evoked release of [(3)H]-ACh which declined asymptotically. This evoked release appeared to follow first-order kinetics with a rate constant which remained stable over the course of prolonged stimulation.4 The rate constant for the evoked release of [(3)H]-ACh with 1 Hz stimulation was three times greater in the presence of physostigmine and atropine than in the presence of physostigmine alone, while the size of the store from which [(3)H]-ACh was released was nearly identical under these two conditions.5 In the absence of physostigmine and atropine, stimulation caused the appearance of only [(3)H]-choline in the samples.6 Reduction of [(3)H]-ACh stores before the application of physostigmine resulted in a reduced evoked release of total radioactivity, both in the absence or presence of physostigmine and atropine, and decreased the evoked release of [(3)H]-ACh without affecting the release of [(3)H]-choline.7 Results suggest that electrical stimulation of cortical slices which had been incubated with [(3)H]-choline causes the release of only [(3)H]-ACh, both in the presence or absence of an anticholinesterase. The evoked increase in the efflux of total radioactivity is therefore a good measure of the release of [(3)H]-ACh.

MeSH terms

  • Acetylcholine / metabolism*
  • Animals
  • Atropine / pharmacology
  • Cerebral Cortex / metabolism*
  • Cerebral Cortex / physiology
  • Choline / metabolism*
  • Cholinesterase Inhibitors / pharmacology
  • Electric Stimulation
  • In Vitro Techniques
  • Physostigmine / pharmacology
  • Rats
  • Time Factors

Substances

  • Cholinesterase Inhibitors
  • Atropine
  • Physostigmine
  • Choline
  • Acetylcholine