Sex-related differences in the expression of chick enterocyte butyrylcholinesterase during embryonic and post-hatching development.

The butyrylcholinesterase activity of chick enterocytes was studied from day 15 in ovo up to day 90 after hatching. The activities detected in both sexes at the level of jejuno-ileum change in a parallel manner, but the activity is always higher in the female than in the male during embryonic development. After hatching, the differences are less apparent although the study of the enzyme distribution along the intestine showed sex-related variations, mainly at the level of the anterior and middle parts of jejuno-ileum in the young adult. Analysis of butyrylcholinesterase by sucrose gradient centrifugation allowed to identify two globular soluble species (G1 and G4 forms). The G4/(G1 + G4) ratio decreases during the development but this variation in the female does not parallel that observed in the male. Besides, the molecular form distribution along the intestine, studied after hatching, differs according to the sex. Taken together our results lead to hypothesize that the ontogeny and the regulation of the chick enterocyte butyrylcholinesterase depend on hormones.