Choline acetyltransferase messenger RNA expression in developing and adult rat brain: regulation by nerve growth factor.

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to develop a method for detection and relative quantification of the choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) mRNA in neonatal and adult rat CNS. Oligonucleotide primers derived from a porcine ChAT cDNA sequence were used in coupled reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR to amplify a cDNA sequence of 206 bp which arises in a cycle- and RNA-dependent manner and which hybridizes with both an internal oligonucleotide and a ChAT cDNA probe. ChAT mRNA was detected in spinal cord, septal area, striatum, cortex and hippocampus but not in cerebellum and cardiac or skeletal muscle. In the septal area, relative quantitative evaluation of ChAT mRNA levels by RT-PCR indicates that this transcript is developmentally regulated and increased following intracerebral administration of nerve growth factor (NGF) to both neonatal and young adult rats. This suggests that the increases of ChAT activity observed in basal forebrain during development or after NGF administration are, at least in part, associated with an increase in corresponding levels of mRNA.