Molecular Forms of Acetylcholinesterase: Regulation in a Testosterone-Sensitive Nerve-Muscle Axis

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Abstract
The distribution of molecular forms of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) was measured in muscles of a song bird, the zebra finch. A pattern similar to those reported in other vertebrates was found. As in other species, the most rapidly sedimenting form of the enzyme decreases to barely detectable levels following denervation. In the muscles of the syrinx, castration causes a large decrease in AChE activity, but has little or no effect on the relative abundance of AChE forms. The number of AChE catalytic sites is changing without affecting the distribution of catalytic sites among the molecular forms. This is in marked contrast with the effect of denervation in the syrinx, which causes changes in the distribution of activity, and in total activity.