Decreased synthesis of acetylcholine accompanying impaired oxidation of pyruvic acid in rat brain minces. Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • The relation between pyruvate utilization and acetylcholine synthesis was investigated in minces of adult rat brain. The flux of pyruvate to acetylcholine was less than 1% of that to CO2; nevertheless, a number of agents which inhibited conversion of [1-14C]-pyruvate or [2-14C]pyruvate into 14CO2 were associated with corresponding decreases in the conversion of [2-14C]pyruvate into acetylcholine. The amount of acetylcholine produced by minces of whole rat brain, measured by g.l.c.-mass spectrometry, decreased similarly. Among the inhibitory compounds tested were 3-bromopyruvate, an irreversible inhibitor of pyruvate dehydrogenase; 2-oxobutyrate, a competitive inhibitor of pyruvate dehydrogenase; other 2-oxo acids; and amobarbital and pentobarbital. Linear-regression equations relating CO2 production to acetylcholine synthesis gave correlation coefficients of 0.89-0.93 for the combined observations. The inhibition of acetylcholine synthesis could not be attributed to inhibition of choline acetyltransferase. Incorporation of [2-14C]pyruvate into lipids, proteins and nucleic acids was effected less than that into acetylcholine. Under these experimental conditions, it was shown that pyruvate utilization can limit acetylcholine synthesis.

publication date

  • April 1, 1975

Research

keywords

  • Acetylcholine
  • Brain
  • Pyruvates

Identity

PubMed Central ID

  • PMC1165501

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 0016741395

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1042/bj1480017

PubMed ID

  • 1156396

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 148

issue

  • 1