Characterization of embryonic cholinesterase in chick limb bud by colorimetry and disk electrophoresis.

In the chondrogenic blastema of the chick limb bud an histochemical cholinesterase activity related to aggregation of the chondroblasts was described by Drews and Drews (1972). This cholinesterase activity was termed "embryonic cholinesterase" (Drews 1975). In the present study embryonic cholinesterase from the limb bud has been characterized by colorimetry and disk electrophoresis and compared to cholinesterase from the myotomes of the same embryos. Embryonic cholinesterase comprises both acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase activity. The banding patterns of embryonic cholinesterase from limb bud and of cholinesterase from myotomes are identical. These findings support the hypothesis that the cholinergic system is involved in the regulation of embryonic development.