Colocalization of gamma-aminobutyric acid and acetylcholinesterase in rodent cortical neurons.

We have previously demonstrated that neurons of the rat cerebral cortex which stain positively for acetylcholinesterase are not likely to be cholinergic since they do not colocalize with choline acetyltransferase immunoreactivity [Levey, Rye, Wainer, Mufson and Mesulam (1984) Neuroscience 9, 9-22]. These noncholinergic acetylcholinesterase-positive cells were similar in morphology to cortical neurons which localize gamma-aminobutyric acid or glutamate decarboxylase immunoreactivity. In order to investigate the possibility that the two substances may be colocalized to the same cortical neurons, gamma-aminobutyric acid immunohistochemistry and acetylcholinesterase histochemistry were combined in single sections of rat cerebral cortex. We found that 18% of gamma-aminobutyric acid-immunoreactive cortical neurons are also acetylcholinesterase-positive, and about 36% of acetylcholinesterase-positive cells are gamma-aminobutyric acid-immunoreactive. Neurons which colocalized both substances were multipolar and bipolar neurons in cortical laminae II-VI and were observed in every cortical area examined. The possibility that gamma-aminobutyric acid-immunoreactive/acetylcholinesterase-positive cortical neurons may be postsynaptic targets of cholinergic afferents to the cerebral cortex is discussed.