ACETYL-CoA SYNTHESIZING ENZYME ACTIVITIES IN SINGLE NERVE CELL BODIES OF RABBIT

Activities of five enzymes (pyruvate dehydrogenase complex; citrate synthase, EC 4.1.3.7; carnitine acetyltransferase, EC 2.3.1.7; acetyl-CoA synthetase, EC 6.2.1.1; and ATP citrate lyase, EC 4.1.3.8) were determined in cell bodies of anterior horn cells and dorsal root ganglion cells from the rabbit. For comparison, molecular layer, granular layer and white matter from rabbit and mouse cerebella and cerebral cortex and striatum from the mouse were analyzed. Samples (3–85 ng dry weight) were assayed in 180 to 370 ml of assay reagents containing CoASH and other substrates in excess. By using ‘CoA cycling’, the assay systems were devised to amplify and measure small amounts of acetyl-CoA formed during the enzyme reactions. Carnitine acetyltransferase was the most active enzyme in single nerve cell bodies and all layer samples, except for rabbit and mouse cerebellar white matter. Citrate synthetase was the lowest in single cell bodies. The activities of carnitine acetyltransferase and acetyl-CoA synthetase (656 and 89.8 mmoles of acetyl-CoA formed/kg of dry weight/h at 38°C) from dorsal root ganglion cells were about 2-fold higher than those from anterior horn cells. The activity of ATP citrate lyase (134mmol of acetyl-CoA formed/kg of dry weight/h at 38°C) from anterior horn cells was approximately twice that from dorsal root ganglion cells. The activity of this enzyme was distributed in a wider range in anterior horn cells than dorsal root ganglion cells. The second highest activity (80.0 mmol of acetyl-CoA formed/kg of dry weight/h at 38°C) of ATP citrate lyase was found in striatum where cholinergic interneurones are abundant. Relatively higher activities of this enzyme were found in cerebellar granular layer and white matter which are known to contain the cholinergic mossy fibers. These results suggested that cholinergic neurones contain higher activity of ATP citrate lyase which is thought to supply acetyl-CoA to choline acetyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.6) as a substrate to form acetylcholine.     

Acetyl-CoA Synthesizing Enzymes in Cholinergic Nerve Terminals

The activities of five enzymes involved in acetyl-CoA synthesis, pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, ATP citrate lyase, carnitine acetyltransferase, acetyl-CoA synthetase, and citrate synthase, were determined in normal nucleus interpeduncularis and nucleus interpeduncularis in which cholinergic terminals were removed following lesion of the habenulointerpeduncular tract. The activities of aspartate transaminase, fumarase, and GABA transaminase also were determined to compare the effect of lesion on other mitochondrial enzymes which are not linked to the biosynthesis of ACh. In normal nucleus interpeduncularis the activities of carnitine acetyltransferase and pyruvate dehydrogenase complex were higher than the activity of ChAT (choline acetyltransferase), whereas the activities of acetyl-CoA synthetase and citrate synthase were considerably lower than that of ChAT. The effect of the lesion separated the enzymes into two groups: the activities of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, carnitine acetyltransferase, fumarase and aspartate transaminase decreased by 30--40%, whereas the activities of the other enzymes descreased 5--15%. ChAT activity was in all cases less than 15% of normal. It could be concluded that none of the acetyl-CoA synthesizing enzymes decreased to the degree that ChAT did. Only pyruvate dehydrogenase complex and carnitine acetyltransferase seem to be localized in cholinergic terminals to a significant degree. ATP citrate lyase as well as acetyl-CoA synthetase seem to have less significance in supporting acetyl-CoA formation in cholinergic nerve terminals.     

ATP citrate lyase in cholinergic nerve endings

The activity of ATP-citrate lyase in homogenates of five selected rat brain regions varied from 2.93 to 6.90 nmol/min/mg of protein in the following order: cerebellum < hippocampus < parietal cortex < striatum < medulla oblongata and that of the choline acetyltransferase from 0.15 to 2.08 nmol/min/mg of protein in cerebellum < parietal cortex < hippocampus=medulla oblongata < striatum. No substantial differences were found in regional activities of lactate dehydrogenase, pyruvate dehydrogenase, citrate synthase or acetyl-CoA synthase. High values of relative specific activities for both choline acetyltransferase and ATP-citrate lyase were found in synaptosomal and synaptoplasmic fractions from regions with a high content of cholinergic nerve endings. There are significant correlations between these two enzyme activities in general cytocol (S₃), synaptosomal (B) and synaptoplasmic (B_s) fractions from the different regions (r=0.92–0.99). These data indicate that activity of ATP-citrate lyase in cholinergic neurons is several times higher than that present in glial and noncholinergic neuronal cells.     

The Enzymes of Acetyl-CoA Metabolism in Differentiating Cholinergic (S-20) and Noncholinergic (NIE-115) Neuroblastoma Cells

Dibutyryl cyclic AMP and butyrate inhibited growth of S-20 (cholinergic) and NIE-115 (adrenergic) neuroblastoma clones. Both these drugs resulted in a parallel increase of choline acetyltransferase and ATP-citrate lyase activities in S-20 neuroblastoma cells. On the other hand, the increase in tyrosine hydroxylase activity in NIE-115 caused by these drugs was not accompanied by a significant change in ATP-citrate lyase activity. Both dibutyryl cyclic AMP and butyrate caused a decrease in fatty acid synthetase activity in both cell lines. The activities of pyruvate dehydrogenase, citrate synthase, choline acetyltransferase, and lactate dehydrogenase in both S-20 and NIE-115 cells were not significantly influenced by the drugs. ATP-citrate lyases from S-20 and NIE-115 had similar kinetic and immunological properties, and their subunits had the same molecular weight as the rat liver enzyme. These data indicate that the differential regulation of ATP-citrate lyase activity in cholinergic and adrenergic cells does not result from the existence of different molecular forms of the enzyme in these cell lines. They also provide further evidence to support the hypothesis that ATP-citrate lyase activity increases during maturation of normal cholinergic neurons and decreases in noncholinergic cells of the brain.     

ATP-Citrate Lyase and Other Enzymes of Acetyl-CoA Metabolism in Fractions of Small and Large Synaptosomes from Rat Brain Hippocampus and Cerebellum

The activities of choline acetyltransferase and ATP-citrate lyase were significantly correlated (r = 0.995) in fractions of small and large synaptosomes isolated from rat hippocampus and cerebellum. The activities of these two enzymes did not correlate with those of pyruvate dehydrogenase, carnitine acetyltransferase, citrate synthase, acetyl-CoA synthetase, lactate dehydrogenase, or with the rate of high-affinity glutamate uptake in the synaptosomal fractions. The results provide additional evidence linking ATP-citrate lyase to the cholinergic system in the brain.     

Effects of Septal Lesions on Enzymes of Acetyl-CoA Metabolism in the Cholinergic System of the Rat Hippocampus

Abstract: Electrolytic lesions made in the medial septum of the rat brain caused an 80% decrease in the activity of choline acetyltransferase and a 33% reduction in ATP-citrate lyase activity in the synaptosomal fraction from the hippocampus. Decreases in the activities of the two enzymes in the cytosol (S₃) fraction were 70 and 13%, respectively. The activities of pyruvate dehydrogenase, citrate synthase, acetyl-CoA synthase, and carnitine acetyltransferase in crude hippocampal homogenates and in subcellular fractions were not affected by septal lesions. The data indicate that ATP-citrate lyase is linked to the septal-hippocampal pathway and that the enzyme is preferentially located in cholinergic nerve endings that terminate within the hippocampus.     

ATP: citrate lyase and carnitine acetyltransferase activity in a citric-acid-producing Aspergillus niger strain

Summary Two enzymes are responsible for the transport of acetyl groups across the mitochondrial membrane, ATP:citrate lyase and carnitine acetyltransferase. At the beginning of the fermentation process an increase in the specific activities of both enzymes was observed, followed by a drop after 2–3 days of fermentation. Under citric-acid-accumulating conditions this drop was much more pronounced, especially for ATP:citrate lyase activity. After the first day the carnitine acetyltransferase activity was higher than that of ATP:citrate lyase. Offsprint requests to: K. Jernejc     

Phosphorylation of 69-kDa choline acetyltransferase at threonine 456 in response to amyloid-beta peptide 1-42

Choline acetyltransferase synthesizes acetylcholine in cholinergic neurons. In the brain, these neurons are especially vulnerable to effects of beta-amyloid (A beta) peptides. Choline acetyltransferase is a substrate for several protein kinases. In the present study, we demonstrate that short term exposure of IMR32 neuroblastoma cells expressing human choline acetyltransferase to A beta-(1-42) changes phosphorylation of the enzyme, resulting in increased activity and alterations in its interaction with other cellular proteins. Using mass spectrometry, we identified threonine 456 as a new phosphorylation site in choline acetyltransferase from A beta-(1-42)-treated cells and in purified recombinant ChAT phosphorylated in vitro by calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaM kinase II). Whereas phosphorylation of choline acetyltransferase by protein kinase C alone caused a 2-fold increase in enzyme activity, phosphorylation by CaM kinase II alone did not alter enzyme activity. A 3-fold increase in choline acetyltransferase activity was found with coordinate phosphorylation of threonine 456 by CaM kinase II and phosphorylation of serine 440 by protein kinase C. This phosphorylation combination was observed in choline acetyltransferase from A beta-(1-42)-treated cells. Treatment of cells with A beta-(1-42) resulted in two phases of activation of choline acetyltransferase, the first within 30 min and associated with phosphorylation by protein kinase C and the second by 10 h and associated with phosphorylation by both CaM kinase II and protein kinase C. We also show that choline acetyltransferase from A beta-(1-42)-treated cells co-immunoprecipitates with valosin-containing protein, and mutation of threonine 456 to alanine abolished the A beta-(1-42)-induced effects. These studies demonstrate that A beta-(1-42) can acutely regulate the function of choline acetyltransferase, thus potentially altering cholinergic neurotransmission.     

Changes in cortical acetyl-CoA metabolism after selective basal forebrain cholinergic degeneration by 192IgG-saporin

The aim of the present study was to reveal whether reduced cortical cholinergic input affects the acetyl-CoA metabolism in cholinoceptive cortical target regions which may play a causative role for the deficits in cerebral glucose metabolism observed in Alzheimer's disease. The effect of cortical cholinergic denervation produced by a single intracerebroventricular application of the cholinergic immunotoxin 192IgG-saporin, on activities of pyruvate dehydrogenase and adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-citrate lyase as well as on the level of synaptoplasmic and mitochondrial acetyl-CoA and acetylcholine release in cortical target regions was studied. Cholinergic lesion produced 83%, 72% and 32% decreases in the activities of choline acetyltransferase, acetylcholinesterase and ATP-citrate lyase in nerve terminals isolated from rat brain cortex, respectively, but no change in pyruvate dehydrogenase activity. Spontaneous and Ca2+-evoked acetylcholine release from synaptosomes was inhibited by 76% and 73%, respectively, following immunolesion. The lesion-induced 39% decrease of acetyl-CoA level in synaptosomal mitochondria was accompanied by 74% increase in synaptoplasmic fraction. Levels of acetyl-CoA and CoASH assayed in fraction of whole brain mitochondria from lesioned cortex were 61% and 48%, respectively, higher as compared to controls. The data suggest a preferential localization of ATP-citrate lyase in cholinergic nerve terminals, where it may contribute to the transport of acetyl-CoA from the mitochondrial to the cytoplasmic compartment. They provide evidence on differential distribution of acetyl-CoA in subcellular compartments of cholinergic and non-cholinergic nerve terminals. There are also indications that cholinergic activity affects acetyl-CoA level and its intracellular distribution in glial and other non-cholinergic cortical cells.     

The Contribution of Citrate to the Synthesis of Acetyl Units in Synaptosomes of Developing Rat Brain

Abstract: The activities of pyruvate dehydrogenase, citrate synthase, and choline acetyltransferase in rat brain synaptosomes increased during on-togenesis by 3 and 14 times, respectively. Activity of ATP-citrate lyase decreased by 26% during the same period. Pyruvate consumption by synapto-somes from 1-day-old animals was 40% lower than that found in older rats; however, citrate efflux from intrasynaptosomal mitochondria in immature synaptosomes was over twice as high as that in mature ones. The rates of production of synaptoplasmic acetyl-CoA, ATP-citrate lyase were 1.03, 1.40, and 0.49 nmol/min/mg protein in 1-, 10-day-old, and adult rats, respectively. 3-Bromopyruvate (0.5 m M ) inhibited pyruvate consumption by 70% and caused a complete block of citrate utilization by citrate lyase in every age group. Parameters of citrate metabolism in cerebellar synaptosomes were the same as those in cerebral ones. These data indicate that production of acetyl-CoA. from citrate in synaptoplasm may be regulated either by adaptative, age-dependent changes in permeability and carrier capacity of the mitochondrial membrane or by the inhibition of synthesis of intramitochondrial acetyl-CoA. ATP-citrate lyase activity is not a rate-limiting factor in this process. Metabolic fluxes of pyruvate to cytoplasmic citrate and acetyl-CoA. are presumably the same in both cholinergic and noncholinergic nerve endings. The significance of citrate release from intrasynaptosomal mitochondria as a regulatory step in acetylcholine synthesis is discussed.     

Regional and Subcellular Distribution of ATP-Citrate Lyase and Other Enzymes of Acetyl-CoA Metabolism in Rat Brain

The activities of ATP-citrate lyase in frog, guinea pig, mouse, rat, and human brain vary from 18 to 30 μmol/h/g of tissue, being several times higher than choline acetyltransferase activity. Activities of pyruvate dehydrogenase and acetyl coenzyme A synthetase in rat brain are 206 and 18.4 μmol/h/g of tissue, respectively. Over 70% of the activities of both choline acetyltransferase and ATP-citrate lyase in secondary fractions are found in synaptosomes. Their preferential localization in synaptosomes and synaptoplasm is supported by RSA values above 2. Acetyl CoA synthetase activity is located mainly in whole brain mitochondria (RSA, 2.33) and its activity in synaptoplasm is low (RSA, 0.25). The activities of pyruvate dehydrogenase, citrate synthase, and carnitine acetyltransferase are present mainly in fractions C and B_p. No pyruvate dehydrogenase activity is found in synaptoplasm. Striatum, cerebral cortex, and cerebellum contain similar activities of pyruvate dehydrogenase, citrate synthase, carnitine acetyltransferase, fatty acid synthetase, and acetyl-CoA hydrolase. Activities of acetyl CoA synthetase, choline acetyltransferase and ATP-citrate lyase in cerebellum are about 10 and 4 times lower, respectively, than in other parts of the brain. These data indicate preferential localization of ATP-citrate lyase in cholinergic nerve endings, and indicate that this enzyme is not a rate limiting step in the synthesis of the acetyl moiety of ACh in brain.     

Studies on insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of acetyl-CoA carboxylase, ATP citrate lyase and other proteins in rat epididymal adipose tissue. Evidence for activation of a cyclic AMP-independent protein kinase.

Protein kinase activity in high-speed supernatant fractions prepared from rat epididymal adipose tissue previously incubated in the absence or presence of insulin was investigated by following the incorporation of 32P from [gamma-32P]ATP into phosphoproteins separated by sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electro-phoresis. Incorporation of 32P into several endogenous proteins in the supernatant fractions from insulin-treated tissue was significantly increased. These included acetyl-CoA carboxylase and ATP citrate lyase (which exhibit increased phosphorylation within fat-cells exposed to insulin), together with two unknown proteins of subunit Mr 78000 and 43000. The protein kinase activity increased by insulin was distinct from cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase, was not dependent on Ca2+ and was not appreciably affected by dialysis or gel filtration. The rate of phosphorylation of added purified fat-cell acetyl-CoA carboxylase and ATP citrate lyase was also increased by 60-90% in high-speed-supernatant fractions prepared from insulin-treated tissue. No evidence for any persistent changes in phosphoprotein phosphatase activity was found. It is concluded that insulin action on acetyl-CoA carboxylase, ATP citrate lyase and other intracellular proteins exhibiting increased phosphorylation involves an increase in cyclic AMP-independent protein kinase activity in the cytoplasm. The possibility that the increase reflects translocation from the plasma membrane, perhaps after phosphorylation by the protein tyrosine kinase associated with insulin receptors, is discussed.     

Association of ATP citrate lyase with mitochondria

(1) The association of ATP citrate lyase with mitochondria was studied with isolated rat hepatocytes and mitochondria. (2) When hepatocytes were treated with digitonin, about 25% of the lyase activity was released like a mitochondrial enzyme. (3) The effect of temperature on release of lyase from hepatocytes was different from that on the release of other cytosolic or mitochondrial enzymes. (4) The fraction of total hepatic lyase in mitochondrial preparations made with exogenous MgCl₂ was 30 times greater than that for a cytosolic marker enzyme, phosphoglycerate kinase. (5) Lyase substrates enhanced the release of the enzyme both from hepatocytes and from isolated mitochondria. (6) The metabolic significance of association of ATP citrate lyase with mitochondria is discussed. (7) Data obtained in the course of these experiments indicate that less than 3% of adenylate kinase is cytosolic.     

Intestinal disaccharidases and some renal enzymes in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats fed sapogenin extract from bitter yam (Dioscorea polygonoides)

In this study, the effects of bitter yam sapogenin extract or commercial diosgenin on intestinal disaccharidases and some renal enzymes in diabetic rats were investigated. Diabetic male Wistar rats were fed diets supplemented with 1% sapogenin extract or commercial diosgenin for 3 weeks. Plasma glucose, intestinal disaccharidases and the activities of transaminases, acid phosphatase, glucose-6-phosphatase, ATP citrate lyase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and pyruvate kinase were assessed for the level of metabolic changes in the kidney of diabetic rats. Sapogenin extract or commercial diosgenin supplementation resulted in a significant decrease in lactase and maltase activities in all three regions of the intestine compared to the diabetic control group. However, the test diets significantly reduced intestinal sucrase activity in the proximal and mid regions. Test diets supplementation resulted in a significant decrease in the activities of the transaminases compared to the normal and diabetic control groups. The activity of glucose-6-phosphatase was significantly increased while the activities of ATP citrate lyase, pyruvate kinase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase were significantly reduced in the kidney of the diabetic control rats compared to the normal group. Test diets supplementation did not significantly alter glucose-6-phosphatase, ATP citrate lyase and pyruvate kinase activities compared to the diabetic control. However, there was a significant increase in glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity toward the normal group. In conclusion, the consumption of bitter yam sapogenin extract or commercial diosgenin demonstrated hypoglycemic properties, which are beneficial in diabetes by reducing intestinal disaccharidases activities; however, bitter yam sapogenin extract may adversely affect the integrity of kidney membrane.     

Citrate Metabolism by Pediococcus halophilus

Several strains of non-citrate-metabolizing Pediococcus halophilus have previously been isolated from soy sauce mash or moromi. The factors controlling the metabolism of citrate in soy pediococci were studied. All the soy pediococcal strains tested which failed to decompose citrate did not possess citrate lyase [citrate (pro-3S)-lyase; EC 4.1.3.6] activity. In P. halophilus, citrate lyase was an inducible enzyme, and the optimum pH for activity was 7.0. The metabolism of citrate in P. halophilus was different from that observed in lactic streptococci. The main products from citrate were acetate and formate, and this bacterium produced no acetoin or diacetyl. Formate production from citrate was greatly reduced in the presence of glucose. P. halophilus 7117 (Cit⁺) was proved to contain citrate lyase, pyruvate formate-lyase (EC 2.3.1.54) phosphotransacetylase (phosphate acetyltransferase; EC 2.3.1.8), and acetate kinase (EC 2.7.2.1), i.e., all the enzymes necessary to convert citrate to acetate and formate.     

Pathways to acetyl-CoA formation in Candida albicans

The supply of acetyl units from the mitochondrion to the cytosol of Candida albicans appears to be dependent only upon the activity of carnitine acetyltransferase (CAT). The enzyme ATP:citrate lyase (ACL), the major source of acetyl units in oleaginous yeasts, is absent from C. albicans in both the mycelial and yeast forms. There appears to be no other active translocation of acetate or acetyl groups except via the action of carnitine acetyltransferase.     

Carnitine acetyltransferase is absent from acuJ mutants of Aspergillus nidulans

Abstract The acuJ mutant of Aspergillus nidulans has been shown to lack carnitine acetyltransferase (CAT) activity when grown under conditions where this activity is readily detectable in wild-type strains. Revertants selected for growth on acetate recover CAT activity and the ability to grow on long-chain fatty acids. When growing on carbon sources such as sucrose, cytosolic acetyl coenzyme A was generated by adenosine triphosphate (ATP): citrate lyase.     

Reciprocal Regulation of Ornithine Decarboxylase and Choline Kinase Activities by Their Respective Reaction Products in the Developing Rat Cerebellar Cortex

Changes in the activity of choline kinase were measured in the cerebellum during development. Early transient increase was found in the enzyme activity just prior to and during birth. This period of increase did not coincide with the periods of transient elevation in ornithine decarboxylase and choline acetyltransferase previously observed in the developing cerebellum. The effects of the naturally occurring polyamines (putrescine, spermidine, and spermine) on choline kinase and choline acetyltransferase activities, and of phosphorylcholine (the product of the reaction catalyzed by choline kinase) on ornithine decarboxylase and choline acetyltransferase activities, were also examined. Choline acetyltransferase activity was not influenced by either polyamines or phosphorylcholine. However, choline kinase activity from 7-day-old, but not from adult, cerebellum was increased 25% in the presence of 4 mM spermine. In contrast, low spermidine concentrations (less than 2 mM) inhibited choline kinase activity selectively in 7-day-old cerebellum. Ornithine decarboxylase activity from 7-day-old cerebellum was inhibited in a concentration-dependent manner by phosphorylcholine. The present data together with other previous reports suggest that: (a) polyamines may play a role in choline utilization during development via their regulation of choline kinase activity, on the one hand, and of acetylcholinesterase activity on the other; and (b) during development, a reciprocal regulation of choline kinase and ornithine decarboxylase activities by their respective reaction products may exist, whereby choline kinase activity is regulated in a complex manner by polyamines and, in turn, ornithine decarboxylase is inhibited by phosphorylcholine.     

Radicicol binds and inhibits mammalian ATP citrate lyase

Six different biotinylated radicicol derivatives were synthesized as affinity probes for identification of cellular radicicol-binding proteins. Derivatives biotinylated at the C-17 (BR-1) and C-11 (BR-6) positions retained the activity of morphological reversion in v-src-transformed 3Y1 fibroblasts. Two radicicol-binding proteins, 120 and 90-kDa in size, were detected in HeLa cell extracts by employing BR-1 and BR-6, respectively. The 90-kDa protein bound to BR-6 was identified to be Hsp90 by immunoblotting. The 120-kDa protein bound to BR-1 was purified from rabbit reticulocyte lysate, and its internal amino acid sequence was identical to that of human and rat ATP citrate lyase. The identity of the 120-kDa protein as ATP citrate lyase was confirmed by immunoblotting. Interaction between BR-1 and ATP citrate lyase was blocked by radicicol but not by herbimycin A that interacts with Hsp90. These results suggest that radicicol binds the two proteins through different molecular portions of its structure. BR-1-bound ATP citrate lyase isolated from rabbit reticulocyte lysate showed no enzymatic activity. The activity of rat liver ATP citrate lyase was inhibited by radicicol and BR-1 but not by BR-6. Kinetic analysis demonstrated that radicicol was a non-competitive inhibitor of ATP citrate lyase with K(i) values for citrate and ATP of 13 and 7 microm, respectively.     

Distribution in brain and retina of four enzymes of acetyl CoA synthesis in relation to choline acetyl transferase and acetylcholine esterase

Eleven regions of mouse brain and twelve layers of monkey retina were assayed for choline acetyl transferase (ChAT), acetylcholine esterase (AChE), and 4 enzymes that synthesize acetyl CoA. The purpose was to seek evidence concerning the source of acetyl CoA for acetylcholine generation. In brain ATP citrate lyase was strongly correlated with ChAT as well as AChE (r=0.914 in both cases). Weak, but statistically significant correlation, was observed between ChAT and both cytoplasmic and mitochondrial thiolase, whereas there was a significant negative correlation between ChAT and acetyl thiokinase. In retina ChAT was essentially limited to the inner plexiform and ganglion cell layers, whereas substantial AChE activity extended as well into inner nuclear, outer plexiform and fiber layers, but no further. ATP citrate lyase activity was also highest in the inner four retinal layers, but was not strongly correlated with either ChAT or AChE (r=0.724 and 0.761, respectively). Correlation between ChAT and acetyl thiokinase was at least as strong (r=0.757), and in the six inner layers of retina, the correlation between ChAT and acetylthiokinase was very strong (r=0.932).Special issue dedicated to Dr. Lawrence Austin