Acetylcholinesterase activity in Clytia hemisphaerica (Cnidaria)

Cholinesterase activity is known in representatives of all living organisms phyla but the origin of the cholinergic system as known in bilaterian animals is still undeciphered. In particular the implication of cholinesterases in the nervous system of non-bilaterian Metazoa is not well known. We thus chose to investigate this activity in the Clytia hemisphaerica (Cnidaria) medusa. In toto histochemical staining revealed an acetylcholinesterase activity in the tentacle bulbs but not in the nervous system. Sequences homologous to acetylcholinesterase were searched within Clytia ESTs and compared to other sequences found in public databases.     

Cellular expression patterns of acetylcholinesterase activity during grasshopper development

We examined the expression of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in the nervous system and epidermal body structures during embryonic and larval development of two grasshopper species: Locusta migratoria and Schistocerca americana. Histochemical labelling was blocked by the enzyme inhibitors eserine and BW284c51, but not by iso-OMPA, showing that the staining reflected true AChE activity. The majority of staining was localized on the cell surface but granular intracellular staining was also visible in many cell bodies. In both species, the cellular expression of AChE followed a similar but complex spatiotemporal staining pattern. Initially, mainly epidermal tissue structures were stained in the various body appendages (stages 25%–30%). Labelling subsequently appeared in outgrowing neurons of the central nervous system (CNS) and in the nerves innervating the limbs and dorsal body wall (stages 30%–40%). The latter staining originated in motoneurons of the ventral nerve cord. In a third phase (after 45%), the somata of certain identified mechanosensory neurons started to express AChE activity, presumably reflecting cholinergic differentiation. Staining was also found in repo-positive glial cells of the CNS, longitudinal glia of connectives, glia of the stomatogastric nervous system and glial cells ensheathing peripheral nerves. Glial cells remained AChE-positive during larval to adult development, whereas motoneurons lost their AChE expression. The expression pattern in non-neuronal cells and glutamatergic motoneurons and the developmental appearance of AChE prior to synaptogenesis in the CNS suggest non-cholinergic functions of AChE during grasshopper embryogenesis. Financial support was provided by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Bi 262/7-1 and 262/11-1)     

Tissue specific expression of the acetylcholinesterase gene in Drosophila melanogaster

Summary Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is mainly membrane bound in the central nervous system (CNS) of larvae and in the head and thorax of adults of Drosophila melanogaster; it is mostly soluble in the larval carcass, the adult abdomen, similar to that of the embryos (Zador et al. 1986). The enzyme shows the same number of isozymes (four or five) in larvae and adults as in the head of the fly or in embryos (Zador et al. 1986). In the Df(3R)GE26/MKRS stock both the membrane bound and the soluble enzyme are at about half normal levels while in the Df(3R)Ace ^HD1/MKRS stock this is true only for the membrane bound AChE. Therefore the effect of the above deficiencies in larvae and adults is consistent with that in embryos (Zador et al. 1986). In heat-sensitive combinations of certain Ace mutant alleles both the membrane bound and the soluble enzyme has reduced activity.Abbreviations AChE acetylcholinesterase (acetylcholine acetyl hydrolase, EC 3.1.1.7) - BAP 1,5-bis(allyldimethylammonium-phenyl)-pentan-3-one dibromide - CNS central nervous system     

Anthelmintic efficacy of flemingia vestita (fabaceae): Genistein-induced alterations in the esterase activity in the cestode,raillietina echinobothrida

To ascertain the anthelmintic efficacy ofFlemingia vestita (an indigenous leguminous plant of Meghalaya, having putative anthelmintic usage), its crude root-tuber peel extract and active chemical principle, genistein, were testedin vitro with reference to esterase activity in the fowl tapeworm,Raillietina echinobothrida. With the localization of non-specific esterases (NSE) and cholinesterase (ChE), the organization of the cholinergic components of the nervous system in toto could be visualized in the cestodeo The specific ChE in the parasite is acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Both NSE and ChE were found in close association with the central and peripheral nervous components, besides being present in the tegument and muscular parts of the terminal male genitalia. The whole tissue homogenate of the parasite also showed a high AChE activity. After exposure to the crude peel extract (50 mg/ml of the incubation medium) and to genistein (0.5 mg/ml), a pronounced decline in the visible stain intensity in the cholinergic components of the nervous system and in the tegument was noticeable, indicating extremely reduced activity of NSE and ChE in these sites. The total AChE activity was also reduced to 4907% and 56–77%, following treatment with the peel extract and genistein, respectively. The reference drug, praziquantel (0.01 mg/ml) also caused reduction in the enzyme activity, somewhat at par with the genistein treatment. Genistein appears to have a transtegumental mode of action. Alteration in the AChE activity points towards acetylcholine, an inhibitory neurotransmitter in cestodes, as the potential target of action.     

In vivo evidence for a regulatory role of the kinase activity of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">linotte</Emphasis>/<Emphasis Type="Italic">derailed</Emphasis> receptor tyrosine kinase,a <Emphasis Type="Italic">Drosophila</Emphasis> Ryk ortholog

The RYK subfamily of receptor tyrosine kinases is characterised by unusual, but highly conserved, amino acid substitutions in the kinase domain. The linotte/derailed gene encodes a Drosophila RYK subfamily member involved in embryonic and adult central nervous system development. Previous studies have shown that the kinase activity of this receptor is not required in vivo for its embryonic function. In this study, we have investigated the role of the cytoplasmic domain and the kinase activity of the linotte/derailed receptor tyrosine kinase in adult brain development. Our results indicate that these domains are not essential for adult brain development but they are required for the proper regulation of the activity of this receptor. This sheds light on a regulatory role for the kinase activity of a RYK subfamily member.Edited by C DesplanEmmanuel Taillebourg and Caroline Moreau-Fauvarque contributed equally to this work     

Parasitism and decreased response to sex pheromones in malePeriplaneta americana (Dictyoptera: Blattidae)

Parasites are known to alter the behavior of their hosts, but little is known about their effects on responses to sexual stimuli. Periplaneta americanainfected with the acanthocephalan Moniliformis moniliformiswere compared to uninfected animals in their behavioral and electroantennogram responses to a synthetic P. americanapheromone component, periplanone-B, and a pheromone mimic, bornyl acetate. In a t-maze there was no significant difference between infected animals' responses to periplanone-B and a random binomial distribution; the responses of uninfected animals were significantly nonrandom. The electroan-tennogram responses of infected and uninfected animals to bornyl acetate or periplanone-B did not differ significantly, however, indicating that the alteration probably does not occur at the peripheral level but at a central nervous system level.     

Evidence and bioassay for diuretic factors in the nervous system of larvalHeliothis virescens

Summary Diuretic factors were studied in the central nervous system of larvae of the tobacco budworm,Heliothis virescens, using [¹⁴C]urea as a sensitive indicator for water movement through isolated Malpighian tubules. The assay required Na⁺ and a pH of 6.0–6.2 for maximum activity. Malpighian tubules had high secretory activity in feeding larvae of the fifth instar, but the activity declined during the burrowing-digging stage that preceded pupation. Malpighian tubules from starved larvae showed a greater response to extracts of nervous tissues than did tubules from feeding larvae, and extracts showed a dose-response relationship with fluid secretion. Diuretic activity was distributed throughout all parts of the central nervous system with the brain having the most activity. Brain extracts increased fluid secretion by in vitro Malpighian tubules by more than 3-fold and doubled the rate of dye clearance from the hemolymph in vivo. Diuretic activity in nervous tissue extracts was unaffected by boiling but sensitive to proteases. Fluid secretion by in vitro tubules was increased by cAMP, dbcAMP, theophylline, octopamine and dopa. These studies provide evidence for the presence of diuretic factors in the central nervous system ofH. virescens larvae and describe a sensitive bioassay for these factors.Abbreviations AR activation ratio - cAMP cyclic AMP - dbcAMP dibutyryl cyclic AMP - dbcGMP dibutyryl cyclic GMP - Dopa dihydroxyphenylalanine - 5-HT 5-hydroxytryptamine - L1 larval instar - VCNS ventral central nervous system     

Histamine is a major mechanosensory neurotransmitter candidate in Drosophila melanogaster

Histamine is known to be the neurotransmitter of insect photoreceptors. Histamine-like immunoreactivity is also found in a number of interneurons in the central nervous system of various insects. Here, we demonstrate by immunohistochemical techniques that, in Drosophila melanogaster (Acalypterae), most or all mechanosensory neurons of imaginal hair sensilla selectively bind antibodies directed against histamine. The histamine-like staining includes the cell bodies of these neurons as well as their axons, which form prominent fibre bundles in peripheral nerves, and their terminal projections in the central neuropil of head and thoracic ganglia. The specificity of the immunostaining is demonstrated by investigating a Drosophila mutant unable to synthesize histamine. Other mechanosensory organs, such as campaniform sensilla or scolopidial organs, do not stain. In the calypteran flies, Musca and Calliphora, we find no comparable immunoreactivity associated with either hair sensilla or the nerves entering the central nervous system, observations in agreement with earlier studies on Calliphora. Thus, histamine seems to be a major mechanosensory transmitter candidate of the adult nervous system of Drosophila, but apparently not of Musca or Calliphora.     

Acetylcholinesterase activity in the developing and regenerating nervous system of the acoel Symsagittifera roscoffensis

Bery, A. and Martínez, P. 2010. Acetylcholinesterase activity in the developing and regenerating nervous system of the acoel Symsagittifera roscoffensis. —Acta Zoologica (Stockholm) 92 : 383–392. The use of the cholinergic system is widespread in the animal kingdom. It controls different processes, including reproduction and neural transmission. However, its evolutionary history is not yet well understood. For instance, the role played by the cholinergic system in the nervous system of basal bilaterian taxa, where the first signs of architectural complexity appear, is still unknown. Here, we describe the structure of the cholinergic system during the development and regeneration of the acoel flatworm Symsagittifera roscoffensis, using acetylcholinesterase (AchE) activity as a marker. In this species, AchE activity is observed at all developmental stages, including in the early embryos. The juvenile and adult patterns reveal the presence of a complex nervous system that includes three pairs of longitudinal neurite bundles, which are connected to an anterior centralized mass of neurons and neural processes formed by two pairs of connectives and four commissures. The power of the technique also allows the detection of newly born neurons as they are incorporated into the growing nervous system (during regeneration).     

Jaburetox,a urease-derived peptide: Effects on enzymatic pathways of the cockroach Nauphoeta cinerea

Jaburetox is a recombinant peptide derived from one of the Canavalia ensiformis urease isoforms. This peptide induces several toxic effects on insects of different orders, including interference on muscle contractility in cockroaches, modulation of UDP-N-acetylglucosamine pyrophosphorylase (UAP) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activities in the central nervous system of triatomines, as well as activation of the immune system in Rhodnius prolixus. When injected, the peptide is lethal for R. prolixus and Triatoma infestans. Here, we evaluated Jaburetox toxicity to Nauphoeta cinerea cockroaches, exploring the effects on the central nervous system through the activities of UAP, NOS, acid phosphatases (ACP), and acetylcholinesterase (AChE). The results indicated that N. cinerea is not susceptible to the lethal effect of the peptide. Moreover, both in vivo and in vitro treatments with Jaburetox inhibited NOS activity, without modifying the protein levels. No alterations on ACP activity were observed. In addition, the enzyme activity of UAP only had its activity affected at 18 hr after injection. The peptide increased the AChE activity, suggesting a mechanism involved in overcoming the toxic effects. In conclusion, our findings indicate that Jaburetox affects the nitrinergic signaling as well as the AChE and UAP activities and establishes N. cinerea as a Jaburetox-resistant model for future comparative studies.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Engrailed</Emphasis> is expressed in larval development and in the radial nervous system of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Patiriella</Emphasis> sea stars

We documented expression of the pan-metazoan neurogenic gene engrailed in larval and juvenile Patiriella sea stars to determine if this gene patterns bilateral and radial echinoderm nervous systems. Engrailed homologues, containing conserved En protein domains, were cloned from the radial nerve cord. During development, engrailed was expressed in ectodermal (nervous system) and mesodermal (coeloms) derivatives. In larvae, engrailed was expressed in cells lining the larval and future adult coeloms. Engrailed was not expressed in the larval nervous system. As adult-specific developmental programs were switched on during metamorphosis, engrailed was expressed in the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system (PNS), paralleling the pattern of neuropeptide immunolocalisation. Engrailed was first seen in the developing nerve ring and appeared to be up-regulated as the nervous system developed. Expression of engrailed in the nerve plexus of the tube feet, the lobes of the hydrocoel along the adult arm axis, is similar to the reiterated pattern of expression seen in other animals. Engrailed expression in developing nervous tissue reflects its conserved role in neurogenesis, but its broad expression in the adult nervous system of Patiriella differs from the localised expression seen in other bilaterians. The role of engrailed in patterning repeated PNS structures indicates that it may be important in patterning the fivefold organisation of the ambulacrae, a defining feature of the Echinodermata.     

Toxicity and anticholinesterase activity of the fungal metabolites territrems to the corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea

The toxicity and anticholinesterase activity of tremorgenic fungal metabolites, territrems, to the corn earworm, Helioverpa zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) were examined. In oral toxicity studies, territrem A significantly inhibited growth by 40% at 25 ppm and by 89% at 250 ppm. Territrem B and an epoxy-derivative significantly inhibited growth by ca. 45% at 250 ppm. Piperonyl butoxide administered orally synergized the toxicity of the territrems tested. In topical toxicity studies, the epoxy-derivative caused 26% mortality and 25% growth retardation at 10 mg/gm insects. Territrem A and B were not significantly lethal, but did reduce growth by 15–20% at 10 mg/gm insect. Paraoxon tested in the same way caused 100% mortality at 25 ppm orally and 10 mg/gm topically. However, all territrems tested in vitro as inhibitors of H. zea head acetylcholinesterase were at least comparable to or were more active than paraoxon. Topically administered epoxy-territrem B also inhibited H. zea head acetylcholinesterase. The potential for development of new insecticides from a territrem lead structure is discussed.     

原产地和入侵地紫茎泽兰对泽兰实蝇的选择性、卵巢蛋白质含量与解毒酶活性的影响

[目的] 紫茎泽兰是我国危害严重的恶性入侵杂草。比较专一性天敌泽兰实蝇对该杂草入侵前后植株的适应性,是揭示外来植物入侵后适应性机制的重要科学问题之一。[方法] 比较泽兰实蝇对原产地和入侵地紫茎泽兰植株的寄主选择性,并测定寄生于2类植株的上泽兰实蝇卵巢蛋白质含量及乙酰胆碱酯酶、羧酸酯酶、谷胱甘肽S-转移酶活性。[结果] 泽兰实蝇对原产地和入侵地紫茎泽兰的选择无显著性差异;寄生在紫茎泽兰入侵地植株上的卵巢蛋白质含量较原产地植株上更高。解毒酶活力比较表明,入侵地紫茎泽兰上泽兰实蝇的羧酸酯酶活性低于原产地上的,但谷胱甘肽S-转移酶（雌虫）活性比较则相反,乙酰胆碱酯酶活性比较均无显著性差异。[结论] 紫茎泽兰入侵后,专一性天敌泽兰实蝇的适应性有所下降,丰富了外来植物入侵机制中天敌逃逸假说的内涵。     

Acrylamide Influence on Activity of Acetylcholinesterase,Thiol Groups,and Malondialdehyde Content in the Brain of Swiss Mice

Acrylamide is a neurotoxin inhibiting neurotransmission in peripheral nerves. Less is known about acrylamide influence on the central nervous system. Here we measured acrylamide influence on the acetylcholinesterase activity in brain stem, hemispheres, and cerebellum of mice (males, Swiss strain) in relation to the thiol groups and malondialdehyde concentration. Acrylamide was injected intraperitoneally (20 and 40 mg/kg, i.e. 0.52 and 1.04 mg per animal). The brain structures were taken 24, 48, and 192 h after the injection. Acetylcholinesterase activity was significantly lower (p < 0.001 to p < 0.05) in all the structures. It was accompanied by the statistically significant (p < 0.001 to p < 0.05) increase in malondialdehyde concentrations in most of the studied structures time periods and ACR doses. –SH groups concentrations were significantly depleted in the right hemisphere (p < 0.01) after 24 h and in brain stem (p < 0.05) after 48 h. We suggest that neurotoxicity of acrylamide in brain is related to acetylcholinesterase inhibition and redox imbalance.     

Inhibition and killing of fungi by the polyamine oxidase-polyamine system

Both components of the polyamine oxidase (PAO)-polyamine system are known to be present in phagocytes and have thus been postulated to contribute to the antimicrobial activity of these cells. Therefore, the effects of the PAO-polyamine system on three medically important opportunistic fungi were examined. Yeasts of Cryptococcus neoformans, but not Candida albicans blastoconidia or Aspergillus fumigatus conidia, were efficiently killed by the system. Two putative end products of the system, hydrogen peroxide and acrolein, both killed C. neoformans at concentrations attainable with the whole system. However, catalase failed to inhibit activity of the whole system, making hydrogen peroxide an unlikely mediator of killing. Although C. albicans blastoconidia and A. fumigatus conidia were not killed by the PAO-polyamine system, germ tube formation by the former, and hyphal growth by the latter, were markedly inhibited. These data establish that the PAO-polyamine system possesses antifungal activity.     

Biochemical and proteomic effects in Procambarus clarkii after chlorpyrifos or carbaryl exposure under sublethal conditions

In vivo effects of two sublethal doses of chlorpyrifos and carbaryl were studied in Procambarus clarkii after 2 and 7 days of exposure, and after pesticide removal. Chlorpyrifos inhibited carboxylesterase activity in a concentration-dependent manner, but acetylcholinesterase was less sensitive. Compared with chlorpyrifos, carbaryl had a less marked effect on esterase activity. The effects of selected pesticides on biotransformation or oxidative stress biomarkers were contradictory. Chlorpyrifos lowered ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD), catalase and oxidized glutathione (GSSG) levels but raised glutathione-S-transferase activity, while carbaryl raised EROD, catalase and glutathione-S-transferase, but lowered glutathione peroxidase and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels. The effects on protein expression patterns depending on pesticide type and the tissue used for analysis were studied in parallel by 2-DE. In gill and nervous tissue about 2000 spots (pI 4–7) were resolved, with quite different expression patterns. Chlorpyrifos altered 72 proteins, mostly in nervous tissue, and carbaryl 35, distributed evenly between organs. Several specific spots were selected as specific protein expression signatures for chlorpyrifos or carbaryl exposure in gills and nervous tissue, respectively.     

Die Erregungsübertragung bei Lineus sanguineus Rathke (Nemertini)

Zusammenfassung Mit histochemischer Methodik läßt sich in den Geweben von Lineus sanguineus (Nemertini) Acetylcholinesterase (ACHE; Spezifitätskontrolle: Eserin- und iso-OMPA-Test) nachweisen. Das Enzym kommt im zentralen und peripheren Nervensystem (Ganglienzellen, Neuropilem, Nervenfasern) vor. Daneben sind die Epithelien der Frontalorgane und Kopfspalten, die Cerebralorgane, die Muskulatur und die Blutzellen ACHE-reaktiv. Die Enzymverteilung läßt auf einen cholinergen Transmittermechanismus schließen.Die Befunde werden in Zusammenhang mit Befunden am aminergen Nervensystem von Lineus (Reutter, 1969) besprochen. Möglicherweise werden doppelt innervierte Sinnesorgane (z.B. Frontalorgane) cholinerg erregt und aminerg kontrolliert, analog zum Parasympathicus-Sympathicus-System der Wirbeltiere. Die ACHE-Aktivität im Bereich der Muskulatur, die frei von aminergen Fasern ist, läßt darauf schließen, daß sie cholinerg erregt wird.

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Impulse transmission in Lineus sanguineus Rathke (Nemertini)II. The cholinergic nervous system

Summary With histochemical methods acetylcholinesterase (ACHE; the specifity of which was tested with eserine and iso-OMPA) was demonstrated within several tissues of Lineus sanguineus (Nemertini). The enzyme is mainly located in the central and in the peripheral nervous system (neurons, neuropileme, and nerve fibers). The epithelia of the frontal organs and of the lateral head folds, the cerebral organs, the musculature and the blood cells are ACHE-reactive, too. The distribution of the enzyme may indicate cholinergic neurotransmission.The results are discussed in view to the adrenergic nervous system of Lineus (Reutter, 1969). Possibly double innervated organs (i.e. the frontal organs) are stimulated cholinergically and are controlled aminergically. This will be in analogy to the parasympathetic-sympathetic system of vertebrates. The activity of ACHE within the musculature, where no aminergic nerve fibers are found, indicates its cholinergic stimulation.

Mit Unterstützung durch die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.     

Increase in activity of acetylcholinesterase by 20-OH-ecdysone in a Chironomus tentans cell line

Summary An epithelial cell line from Chironomus tentans exhibits acetylcholinesterase activity (specific activity 0.05–0.2 nkat/mg protein), which rises 30– to 40-fold after addition of 10^–6 M 20-OH-ecdysone. The first visible increase occurs after 4 days of incubation with hormone. The enzyme has an apparent K _m of 2.3±0.2×10^–4 M for acetylthiocholine iodide as substrate and is inhibited by eserine and BW284 C51 (50% inhibition at 5×10^–7 M for both inhibitiors) as well as by high concentrations of substrate, but not by tetraisopropylpyrophosphamide. The sensitivity against inhibitors is the same in extracts from hormone-treated cells and from controls. The cholinesterase activity correlates with morphological changes (shape and cell arrangement) and is indepenent of neuronal differentiation. We therefore propose a function for this activity during morphogenesis.     

Overlapped and differential expression of cAMP‐dependent kinase‐inhibitor isoforms during avian organogenesis period

Although cAMP‐dependent kinase (PKA) has been known to regulate many biological systems, including patterning, cell differentiation and proliferation, it is not well understood how the spatial‐temporal specificity of the PKA signaling is generated. While the PKA signal activation is regulated in many ways, a direct visualization of PKA activity in situ is not possible. Thus, examinations of PKA regulators will provide indirect, but nonetheless important information to elucidate the distribution of PKA activity. In the present study, three isoforms of PKA‐inhibitor (PKI) genes were identified from avian genome, and their expression patterns were examined during the organogenesis period. PKI genes were strongly expressed in muscle, liver, and nervous system primordia, suggesting their inhibitory roles on the PKA signaling in the development of these tissues.     

Evolution and ultrastructure of the bovine spermatogonia precursor cell line

We have used a cytochemical technique to investigate the distribution of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in the deutocerebrum of the brain of the sphinx moth Manduca sexta. To distinguish between extra-and intracellular pools of the enzyme, some brains were treated prior to histochemical staining with echothiophate, an irreversible AChE inhibitor which penetrates cell membranes very slowly and, therefore, inhibits only extracellular AChE. In the antennal nerve, fascicles of presumably mechanosensory fibers show echothiophateinsensitive AChE activity. They bypass the antennal lobe and project to the antennal mechanosensory and motor center of the deutocerebrum. In the antennal lobe, fibers in the coarse neuropil, cell bodies in the lateral cell group, and all glomeruli exhibit AChE activity. In most ordinary glomeruli, echothiophate-sensitive AChE activity is concentrated in the outer cap regions, corresponding to the terminal arborizations of olfactory afferents. A previously unrecognized glomerulus in the ventro-median antennal lobe shows uniform and more intense AChE-specific staining that the other glomeruli. No AChE activity appeared to be associated with malespecific pheromone-sensitive afferents in the macro-glomerular complex. About 67 interneurons with somata in the lateral cell group of the antennal lobe show echo-thiophate-insensitive AChE activity. These neurous seem to be members of two types of antennal-lobe projection neurons with fibers passing through the outer-antenno-cerebral tract to the protocerebrum. AChE-stained arborizations of these neurons appear to invade all glomeruli, including three distinguishable subunits of the male-specific macroglomerular complex. In echothiophate-treated animals, the projections of one of these types of fiber form large terminals in the lateral horn of protocerebrum, which partly protrude into the adjacent glial cell layer. The results suggest that extracellularly accessible AChE is associated with ordinary olfactory receptor terminals but apparently not with pheromone-sensitive afferents. Intracellular AChE appears to be present in antennal mechanosensory fibers and in two types of olfactory projection neurons of the antennal lobe. The study provides further evidence for cholinergic neurotransmission of most antennal afferents. The AChE-containing interneurons might be cholinergic as well or use the enzyme for functions unrelated to hydrolysis of acetylcholine.Abbreviations ACh acetylcholine - AChE acetylcholinesterase - AL antennal lobe - AMMC antennal mechanosensory and motor center - ChAT choline acetyltransferase - IACT inner antenno-cerebral tract - MGC macroglomerular complex