Developmental and regional quantitation of glycerophosphorylcholine phosphodiesterase activities in rat brain.

The activity of glycerophosphorylcholine cholinephosphodiesterase was quantified in the diencephalon, mesencephalon, cerebral hemispheres, olfactory bulb and cerebellum postnatally for P5 until P70 of rat brain. The initially low activities gradually increase to adult levels by P30. The patterns of regional development are reminescent of those previously described for choline acetyltransferase activity. It is suggested that these may be functionally linked in neuronal cells. The activity of glycerophosphorylcholine phosphocholine phosphodiesterase was also determined and found to be similar although only one half as active as the enzyme liberating choline. The present experiments show that both the GPC phosphocholine phosphodiesterase and the GPC choline phosphodiesterase are regionally and developmentally regulated in rat brain.