Activity of acetylcholine hydrolase (EC 3.1.1.7) in the pig brain; spectrophotometric and histochemical studies in the light and electron microscope.

AChE activity (EC 3.1.1.7) in the pig brain was examined by spectrophotometric method and histochemically in the light and electron microscope. The results obtained correlate to a high degree with the existing data concerning the activity of the studied enzyme in other mammals. In the pig, the highest activity was encountered in the striatum nucleus accumbens and nucleus amygdale lateralis: the lowest activity was found in encephalon and cerebellum. In comparison with other mammals AChE activity in the pig brain is considerably lower. No comparable proportions have been encountered between the activities of AChE and ChAT in particular brain regions in the mammals examined so far and also in the pig. The results of histochemical examination both in the light and in the electron microscope correspond to the results obtained by other authors. The discussion deals with the problem of correlation between the level of AChE activity in particular regions of the pig brain with respect to their phylogenetic growth.