Acute starvation decreases acetylcholinesterase activity in different regions of rat brain

Effect of alloxan-induced diabetes on acetylcholinesterase activity from discrete areas of rat brain

The effect of experimental diabetes induced in rats was examined in brain areas like the septum, medial preoptic area, median eminence-arcuate region, amygdala, thalamus, hippocampus, pons and medulla. In all the areas studied, acute hyperglycemia caused an increase in the activity of acetylcholinesterase, the degradative enzyme of cholinergic system, whereas insulin administration reversed this effect. These findings suggest that the dysfunction of cholinergic system may also be involved in the diabetes associated CNS complications.

Acetylcholinesterase and Na+,K(+)-ATPase activities in different regions of rat brain during insulin-induced hypoglycemia

The activities of acetylcholinesterase (acetylcholine acetylhydrolase, EC 3.1.1.7), responsible for hydrolysis of acetylcholine and Na+,K(+)-ATPase (Mg(2+)-dependent ATP phosphohydrolase, EC 3.6.1.3), which plays a crucial role in neurotransmission, were determined in four brain regions after 1, 2, and 3 h of insulin administration. Significant decrease in the acetylcholinesterase and Na+,K(+)-ATPase activities was observed in the soluble and total particulate fractions from cerebral hemispheres, cerebellum, brain stem, and diencephalon + basal ganglia after 1, 2, and 3 h of insulin-induced hypoglycemia. Blood glucose level decreased significantly after 1 h of insulin administration and remained at low level for 2 h thereafter, whereas, the protein content in different subcellular fractions from four brain regions did not show any significant change under this physiological stress.