Muscle acetylcholinesterase expression

Camp, S., De Jaco, A., Zhang, L., Marquez, M., De la Torre, B., Taylor, P. (2008). Acetylcholinesterase expression in muscle is specifically controlled by a promoter-selective enhancesome in the first intron. J. Neurosci. 28 2459-70. 

Herman, R. K. and Kari, C. K. (1985) Muscle-specific expression of a gene affecting acetylcholinesterase in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Cell. 40 509-514. 

Acetylcholine serves as a neurotransmitter. Removal of acetylcholine within the time limits of the synaptic transmission is accomplished by acetylcholinesterase (AChE). The time required for hydrolysis of acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junction is less than a millisecond (turnover time is 150 ps) such that one molecule of AChE can hydrolyze 6 105 acetylcholine molecules per minute. The Km of AChE for acetylcholine is approximately 50-100 pM. AChE is one of the most efficient enzymes known. It works at a rate close to catalytic perfection where substrate diffusion becomes rate limiting. AChE is expressed in cholinergic neurons and muscle cells where it is found attached to the outer surface of the cell membrane. 

Chan, R.Y., Boudreau-Lariviere, C., Angus, L.M., Mankal, F.A., Jasmin, B.J. (1999). An intronic enhancer containing an N-box motif is required for synapse- and tissue-specific expression of the acetylcholinesterase gene in skeletal muscle fibers. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 96 4627-32. 

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