Assays for Cholinergic Properties in Cultured Rat Schwann Cells
- Creators
- Brockes, J. P.
Abstract
Cultured rat Schwann cells did not contain detectable levels of choline acetyltransferase (less than 0.5 pmol ACh min^(-1) mg^(-1) of protein) or of acetylcholinesterase and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. After adding Schwann cells to primary rat myotube cultures, the level of cholineacetyl transferase in the co-cultures increased after three weeks to as high as 5 pmol ACh min^(-1) mg^(-1) . The activity appearing in co-cultures sedimented at approximately 4S, and was inhibited 50% by 4(1-napthylvinyl) pyridine in the concentration range of 10-50 μM. After treatment of co-cultures with anti rat neural antigen-1 (RAN-1) and complement, 70-80% of the activity was lost, suggesting that it is induced in the Schwann cells. Attempts to obtain the effect by exposure of Schwann cells to medium conditioned by the myotube cultures, or by co-culture with fibroblasts gave levels of activity at or below the limit of detection.
Additional Information
© 1984 The Royal Society. Communicated by B. B. Boycott, F.R.S. Received 28 February 1984. Initial experiments on expression of cholinergic properties were performed at the M.R.C. Neuroimmunology Project, University College London and I thank M. C. Raff, J. Winter and A. Hornby-Smith for their participation. Research at the California Institute of Technology was supported by grants from the N.I.H. and the Pew Memorial Trust. I thank T. Stevens for assistance with cultures and Dr K. L. Fields for the gift of anti-RAN-1.Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 54150
- DOI
- 10.1098/rspb.1984.0053
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20150127-135027104
- NIH
- Pew Memorial Trust
- Created
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2015-01-28Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-10Created from EPrint's last_modified field