Acetylcholine-like immunoreactivity in the cestode Hymenolepis diminuta.

The localization of acetylcholine in tissues of the cestode Hymenolepis diminuta was determined, following derivatization, using an antibody raised against choline-glutaraldehyde-protein. Specific immunoreactivity was observed in the rostellum and beneath the suckers of the scolex, in the longitudinal nerve cords, in cells adjacent to some deep longitudinal muscles, in the genital primordium, in the wall of the cirrus sac, and in the external and internal seminal vesicle. The distribution of acetylcholine-like immunoreactivity in relation to that of serotonin and glutamate, and the distribution of acetylcholinesterase in H. diminuta is discussed.