Immunochemistry of mammalian cholinesterases

Advances in the study of cholinesterase biology have been facilitated by the development of polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies to acetylcholinesterase (AChE) (EC 3.1.1.7) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) (EC 3.1.1.8) in several laboratories. Our work has focused on murine monoclonal antibodies to the mammalian enzymes. Two dozen antibodies are now in hand, with primary specificity for the AChE of human red blood cells, rabbit brain, and rat brain, and for the BuChE of human plasma. These antibodies exhibit a restricted but useful range of affinities for other mammalian cholinesterases of corresponding types. Several applications are described, including an analysis of BuChE phylogeny within the higher primates, an immunodisplacement assay of AChE in normal human red blood cells and cells from patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, a study of immunochemical differences between membrane-associated and soluble AChE of rabbit brain, and initial work on the immunofluorescence cytochemistry of the rat brain.