Association of the synaptic form of acetylcholinesterase with extracellular matrix in cultured mouse muscle cells.

Myotubes of a mouse muscle-cell line (C2) synthesize in culture a 16S form of acetylcholinesterase that is normally found only in regions of adult mouse muscle that contain endplates. The 16S enzyme in C2 cell extracts has the properties expected of acetylcholinesterase forms that have a collagen-like tail. In intact cells, the active site of the 16S acetylcholinesterase is protected by a membrane-impermeable inhibitor, and this form of the enzyme can be removed by treatment of the cells with collagenase. Thus the enzyme is extracellular. Its extraction by high ionic strength solutions lacking detergent suggests that the 16S form is associated with the extracellular matrix by ionic interactions. Histochemical staining shows focal patches of acetylcholinesterase activity on the cell surface. Collagenase treatment, which removes only the 16S form, abolishes this staining pattern, indicating that the patches consist of the 16S enzyme. We conclude that the 16S enzyme in C2 myotubes occurs in focal patches on the cell surface, where it is associated with the extracellular matrix.