Choline acetyltransferase and acetylcholinesterase in muscular dystrophic mice.

The activities of choline acetyltransferase (CAT) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) were assayed in various tissues of dystrophic (dy/dy) and normal mice of Bar Harbor strain 129. The brain weights of these dystrophic mice were not significantly different from those of normal mice, but the average body weight of these dystrophic mice was only 66.8% of that of the controls. The activity of CAT (expressed as unit activity per mg of protein) was very similar in the brains of both groups of animals, but the CAT activity (per mg of protein) in the hindlimb muscles of the dystrophic mice was significantly higher than that of the controls. The patterns of AChE activity, as separated by sucrose density gradient centrifugation, were distinctly different in extracts of dystrophic and normal muscle. Compared with controls, decreased activity of the 15-S and 10-S forms of AChE, with increased activity of a 4.3-S formed of AChE, was observed in dystrophic muscle.