THE CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL IDENTIFICATION OF ACETYLCHOLINE OBTAINED FROM SYMPATHETIC GANGLIA

¹ Department of Pharmacology, University of Utah College of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah

An acetylcholine-like substance stored by sympathetic ganglia and released upon electrical stimulation of the preganglionic sympathetic nerve fibers has been characterized. Paper chromatographic and paper electrophoretic techniques were used to identify the ACh-like substance obtained from extracts of cat and beef sympathetic ganglionic chains. In each system employed, the ACh-like substance had the same R_f as that of C¹⁴-ACh. The melting point of the tetrachloroaurate salt of the ACh-like substance was the same as that of the ACh tetrachloroaurate.

Two radioactive compounds were detected in the effluent from the perfused, indirectly stimulated superior cervical ganglion and in an extract of the perfused ganglion. The chromatographic and electrophoretic data suggest that C¹⁴-choline and C¹⁴-ACh were present in both the effluent and in the extract.

Physical and chemical evidence is provided that ACh is stored in sympathetic ganglia and that ACh is released when the preganglionic nerve fibers are stimulated. Other esters were not detected in the extracts or in the collected perfusates. C14-choline is a useful tool for studying various aspects of the synthesis, storage, and release of the cholinergic mediator.

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				D. E. Schmidt, P. I. A. Szilagyi, D. L. Alkon, and J. P. Green Acetylcholine: Release from Neural Tissue and Identification by Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography Science, September 26, 1969; 165(3900): 1370 - 1371. [Abstract] [PDF]