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Effects of some centrally acting drugs on acetylcholine synthesis by rat cerebral cortex slices
Author(s) -
SHARKAWI M.
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
british journal of pharmacology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.432
H-Index - 211
eISSN - 1476-5381
pISSN - 0007-1188
DOI - 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1972.tb08144.x
Subject(s) - acetylcholine , cerebral cortex , neuroscience , parasympathomimetics , pharmacology , chemistry , physostigmine , muscarinic acetylcholine receptor , medicine , biology , biochemistry , receptor
Summary1 Brain cortex slices from rats injected i.p. with urethane (1 g/kg), chloral hydrate (350 mg/kg) or physostigmine (0·75 mg/kg) were examined for acetylcholine (ACh) content, cholinesterase (total enzyme) activity and formation of 14 C‐ACh from carbon 14 ‐uniformly labelled glucose (U‐ 14 C‐ d ‐glucose) in the presence of 0·01 m m physostigmine. 2 Slices from rats treated with urethane, chloral hydrate, or physostigmine contained significantly higher concentrations of ACh than slices from untreated animals. 3 Only slices from physostigmine‐treated rats had a significantly lower cholinesterase activity. 4 Slices from urethane‐ or chloral hydrate‐treated animals formed significantly less 14 C‐ACh than slices from untreated or physostigmine‐treated rats when incubated in 4 m m K + medium. In an ACh‐releasing medium (31 m m K + ) slices from rats treated with urethane or chloral hydrate and slices from untreated rats formed similar amounts of 14 C‐ACh. 5 Slices from rats treated with atropine (25 mg/kg) or pentylenetetrazol (75 mg/kg) had a similar ability to form 14 C‐ACh as slices from untreated animals when incubated in either 4 or 31 m m K + medium. 6 These findings suggest that the intraneuronal ACh concentration is a limiting factor in the regulation of ACh synthesis.