Acetylation of choline

Two of these systems were studied as models—the acetylation of choline in brain to give acetyl choline (Hebb, Nachmansohn), and of sulfanilamide (the active component in prontosil, Chapter 3) in liver (Lipmann). Sulfanilamide is rapidly inactivated by acetylation on the p-amino group and then excreted. Sulfanilamide is easily diazotized the diazonium salt formed can be coupled with N-( 1 -naphthyl)ethylenedi-amine dihydrochloride to give a pink derivative (Bratton and Marshall, 1939). This formed the basis for an elegant colorimetric assay. Only the free p-amino group reacts, so that as acetylation proceeded color formation diminished. 

Choline acetyltransferase catalyzes the synthesis of ACh—the acetylation of choline with acetyl coenzyme A (Co A). Choline acetyltransferase, like other protein constituents of the neuron, is synthesized within the perikaryon and then is transported along the length of the axon to its terminal. Axonal terminals contain a large number of mitochondria, where acetyl CoA is synthesized. Choline is taken up from the extracellular fluid into the axoplasm by active transport. The synthetic step occurs in the cytosol most of the ACh is then sequestered within synaptic vesicles. Inhibitors of choline acetyltransferase have no therapeutic utility, in part because the uptake of choline, not the activity of the acetyltransferease, is rate-limiting in ACh biosynthesis. 

Figure 2.4B Synthesis, release and degradation of acetylcholine. 1). The enzyme choline acetyltransferase catalyzes the acetylation of choline by acetyl CoA to form acetylcholine.

Coenzyme A. CoA was discovered as a factor needed for the acetylation of choline and of aromatic amines. The isolation and identification of this material was one of the major advances of modem biochemistry. Not only is CoA of intrinsic interest as an active biochemical reagent, but it is essential for many diverse reactions that could not be studied until CoA and its many acylated forms became available. The study of... 

The acetylation of choline. Pantothenic acid is necessary for the formation of acetylcholine, the transmitter of nerve impulses. 

Nachmansohn and Machado first showed that acetate acts as an acetyl donor for the acetylation of choline in the presence of ATP and choline acetylase. CoA was found to be an essential cofactor for the activation of acetate as an acetyl donor. - The activation has been studied with a purified yeast enzyme. It was found that isotopic PPi exchanges rapidly with the pyrophosphoryl group of ATP in the absence of CoA. The first step in the activation of acetate thus appears to be... 

Detoxifica.tlon. Detoxification systems in the human body often involve reactions that utilize sulfur-containing compounds. For example, reactions in which sulfate esters of potentially toxic compounds are formed, rendering these less toxic or nontoxic, are common as are acetylation reactions involving acetyl—SCoA (45). Another important compound is. Vadenosylmethionine [29908-03-0] (SAM), the active form of methionine. SAM acts as a methylating agent, eg, in detoxification reactions such as the methylation of pyridine derivatives, and in the formation of choline (qv), creatine [60-27-5] carnitine [461-06-3] and epinephrine [329-65-7] (50). 

The chlorohydrin process (24) has been used for the preparation of acetyl-P-alkylcholine chloride (25). The preparation of salts may be carried out mote economically by the neutralization of choline produced by the chlorohydrin synthesis. A modification produces choline carbonate as an intermediate that is converted to the desired salt (26). The most practical production procedure is that in which 300 parts of a 20% solution of trimethyl amine is neutralized with 100 parts of concentrated hydrochloric acid, and the solution is treated for 3 h with 50 parts of ethylene oxide under pressure at 60°C (27). 

Important derivatives of choline are acetylcholine, acetyl-P-methylcholine, and carbamylcholine. Many other choline derivatives have been synthesized and studied, but have not been found satisfactory for clinical use. 

Acetylcholine is the product of the reaction between choline and acetyl coenzyme A in the presence of choline acetylase (41). 

Figure 6.1 Synthesis and metabolism of acetylcholine. Choline is acetylated by reacting with acetyl-CoA in the presence of choline acetyltransferase to form acetylcholine (1). The acetylcholine binds to the anionic site of cholinesterase and reacts with the hydroxy group of serine on the esteratic site of the enzyme (2). The cholinesterase thus becomes acetylated and choline splits off to be taken back into the nerve terminal for further ACh synthesis (3). The acetylated enzyme is then rapidly hydrolised back to its active state with the formation of acetic acid (4)...

The reaction of choline with mitochondrial bound acetylcoenzyme A is catalysed by the cytoplasmic enzyme choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) (see Fig. 6.1). ChAT itelf is synthesised in the rough endoplasmic reticulum of the cell body and transported to the axon terminal. Although the precise location of the synthesis of ACh is uncertain most of that formed is stored in vesicles. It appears that while ChAT is not saturated with either acetyl-CoA or choline its synthesising activity is limited by the actual availability of choline, i.e. its uptake into the nerve terminal. No inhibitors of ChAT itself have been developed but the rate of synthesis of ACh can, however, be inhibited by drugs like hemicholinium or triethylcholine, which compete for choline uptake into the nerve. 

Some agonists, such as methacholine, carbachol and bethanecol are structurally very similar to ACh (Fig. 6.6). They are all more resistant to attack by cholinesterase than ACh and so longer acting, especially the non-acetylated carbamyl derivatives carbachol and bethanecol. Carbachol retains both nicotinic and muscarinic effects but the presence of a methyl (CH3) group on the p carbon of choline, as in methacholine and bethanecol, restricts activity to muscarinic receptors. Being charged lipophobic compounds they do not enter the CNS but produce powerful peripheral parasympathetic effects which are occasionally used clinically, i.e. to stimulate the gut or bladder. 

Acetylcholine is formed from acetyl CoA (produced as a byproduct of the citric acid and glycolytic pathways) and choline (component of membrane lipids) by the enzyme choline acetyltransferase (ChAT). Following release it is degraded in the extracellular space by the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE) to acetate and choline. The formation of acetylcholine is limited by the intracellular concentration of choline, which is determined by the (re)uptake of choline into the nerve ending (Taylor Brown, 1994). 

Acetylcholine synthesis and neurotransmission requires normal functioning of two active transport mechanisms. Choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) is the enzyme responsible for ACh synthesis from the precursor molecules acetyl coenzyme A and choline. ChAT is the neurochemical phenotype used to define cholinergic neurons although ChAT is present in cell bodies, it is concentrated in cholinergic terminals. The ability of ChAT to produce ACh is critically dependent on an adequate level of choline. Cholinergic neurons possess a high-affinity choline uptake mechanism referred to as the choline transporter (ChT in Fig. 5.1). The choline transporter can be blocked by the molecule hemicholinium-3. Blockade of the choline transporter by hemicholinium-3 decreases ACh release,... 

Another observation on oxalate formation is that other a-keto acids, such as oxalosuccinic acid (74) and a-ketoglutaric acid (106) do not seem to yield oxalate directly but indirectly (123). This appears to be due to the fact that only oxaloacetic acid can function as an acetate donor. In this connection the intervention of Coenzyme A may be considered, since it is reported to function in the acetylation of sulfanilamide and choline (73) and recently was shown to take part in the enzymatic synthesis of citric acid. This concept may be illustrated as follows ... 

The effect of Li+ upon the synthesis and release of acetylcholine in the brain is equivocal Li+ is reported to both inhibit and stimulate the synthesis of acetylcholine (reviewed by Wood et al. [162]). Li+ appears to have no effect on acetyl cholinesterase, the enzyme which catalyzes the hydrolysis of acetylcholine [163]. It has also been observed that the number of acetylcholine receptors in skeletal muscle is decreased by Li+ [164]. In the erythrocytes of patients on Li+, the concentration of choline is at least 10-fold higher than normal and the transport of choline is reduced [165] the effect of Li+ on choline transport in other cells is not known. A Li+-induced inhibition of either choline transport and/or the synthesis of acetylcholine could be responsible for the observed accumulation of choline in erythrocytes. This choline is probably derived from membrane phosphatidylcholine which is reportedly decreased in patients on Li+ [166],... 

Acid- and base-sensitive lipidated peptides can be selectively deprotected by enzymatic hydrolysis of choline esters.[13al Choline esters of simple peptides, but also of sensitive peptide conjugates like phos-phorylated and glycosylated peptides,1141 nucleopep-tides1151 and lipidated peptides,113,1631 can be cleaved with acetyl choline esterase (AChE) and butyryl choline esterase (BChE) under virtually neutral conditions with complete chemoselectivity. Acid-labile farnesyl groups and base-sensitive thioesters are not attacked. 

True and pseudo-cholinesterase. The above serum preparations contained both the true and pseudo- cholinesterases of Mendel and Rudney.1 The effect of di-isopropyl phosphorofluoridate on these components was examined separately by means of the specific substrates described by Mendel, Mundel and Rudney,2 using the titration method described above. Phosphorofluoridate (5 x 10 8m) gave an inhibition of 57 per cent of the activity towards 00045m acetylcholine, 30 per cent of the activity towards 0-0005 m acetyl-/ methyl-choline, and 40 per cent of that towards 0-005 m benzoylcholine, after incubating the enzyme with the poison for 5 min. Thus in these experiments there appeared to be no appreciable difference in sensitivity of the true and pseudo-cholinesterases of horse serum to phosphorofluoridates. 

Figure 3.3 (a) Covalent catalysis the catalytic mechanism of a serine protease. The enzyme acetylcholinesterase is chosen to illustrate the mechanism because it is an important enzyme in the nervous system. Catalysis occurs in three stages (i) binding of acetyl choline (ii) release of choline (iii) hydrolysis of acetyl group from the enzyme to produce acetate, (b) Mechanism of inhibition of serine proteases by diisopropylfluorophosphonate. See text for details. 

Hydrolysis involves nucleophilic attack by the serine hydroxyl onto the ester carbonyl (see Box 7.26). This leads to transfer of the acetyl group from acetylcholine to the enzyme s serine hydroxyl, i.e. formation of a transient acetylated enzyme, and release of choline. We have met this type of reaction before under transesterification (see Section 7.9.1). Hydrolysis of the acetylated enzyme then occurs rapidly, releasing acetate and regenerating the free enzyme. 

Serine itself would be insufficiently nucleophilic to attack the ester carbonyl, so the reaction is facilitated by participation of the imidazole ring of histidine. The basic nitrogen in this residue is oriented so that it can remove a proton from the serine hydroxyl, increasing nucleophilicity and allowing attack on the ester carbonyl. This leads to formation of the transient acetylated enzyme, and release of choline. Hydrolysis of the acetylated enzyme utilizes water as nucleophile, but again involves the imidazole ring, and regenerates the free enzyme. 

Muscarinic Receptor Interactions. Excitatory muscarinic effects, such as temporary stimulation of salivation and stimulation of intestinal peristalsis, were seen with 2-PAM. Atropine-like actions were seen at high concentrations (15-20 mg/kg or more), and, when injected rapidly, 2-PAM caused temporary diplopia (nicotinic block) and loss of accommodation in the eye.Both TMB-4 and 2-PAM blocked bradycardia induced by vagal stimulation. At low concentrations, neither compound affected normal intestinal peristalsis, but they did block peristalsis caused by increased vagal stimulation. TMB-4, 2-PAM, and toxogonin antagonized the effect of acetylcholine, acetyl- -methyl-choline, and other agonists on Isolated guinea pig ileum.62... 

Patients with ALS/PDC also show a moderate loss of choline acetyl transferase activity in the midfrontal and inferior parietal cortex and a severe loss in the superior temporal cortex (Masliah et al., 2001). This deficit is similar to that seen in Alzheimer disease and less severe than in Lewy body disease. Thus, cholinergic deficits in the neocortex may contribute to some of the cognitive alterations in ALS/PDC. 

Acetylcholine is a major neurotransmitter in the neostriatum. Within the neostriatum, both the content of acetylcholine and the specific activity of choline acetyl transferase,... 

Polak and Molenaar described a method for the determination of acetylcholine from brain tissue by pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry [200]. The deuterium-labeled acetyl-choline is pyrolytically demethylated with sodium benzenethiolate, followed by quantitative GC-MS analysis. In this method, care must be taken so that the samples do not contain appreciable amounts of choline since exchange of deuterium-labeled groups between acetylcholine and choline during pyrolysis may yield erroneous results. The same authors have also reported a method for the determination of acetylcholine by slow pyrolysis combined with mass fragment analysis on a packed capillary column [201]. 

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