Effects of sodium pentobarbital anesthesia and neurotrophic factor on the maintenance of acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase in the preganglionically denervated superior cervical ganglion of the cat.

In continuation of a previously reported study, the superior cervical ganglia of cats were preganglionically denervated bilaterally under sodium pentobarbital anesthesia. The following day cats were reanesthetized and infused via the common carotid artery with an aqueous extract of cat brain, spinal cord, and sciatic nerves for periods of 24, 12, 6, and 3 hr, without ligation of the external carotid or lingual arteries as was done previously. Values for acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase of superior cervical ganglia at 48 hr postdenervation were all considerably above those of denervated controls. However, values for cats infused with 0.9% NaCl solution and for noninfused cats in which sodium pentobarbital anesthesia was maintained during the 24- to 48-hr postdenervation period were similarly elevated, to approximately twice the values in denervated controls. Ligation of the external carotid and lingual arteries at 24 hr postdenervation was found to oppose the preservation of acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase contents of the ganglia induced by barbiturate anesthesia. When arterially ligated cats were infused with extract for periods of 12, 6, or 3 hr, beginning 24 hr postdenervation, acetylcholinesterase contents of superior cervical ganglia were elevated significantly above those of reanesthetized, arterially ligated controls after 12 and 6 hr but not after 3 hr of infusion, at 48 hr postdenervation.