Denervation of chicken skeletal muscle causes an increase in acetylcholinesterase mRNA synthesis

We have examined the changes in enzymatic activity and the levels of transcripts for AChE following denervation of chicken skeletal muscle. Quantitation of RNA blots indicates that AChE transcripts are increased following denervation. AChE transcripts increased approximately 17-fold in the fast-twitch posterior latissimus dorsi muscle and approximately 4-fold in the tonic anterior latissimus dorsi muscle 10 days after denervation of adult chickens. Both AChE transcript levels and enzyme activity increased in parallel for the two muscles. AChE transcripts also increased approximately 4-fold in the shank muscles of 2-day-old chicks following denervation. Transcript synthesis, measured by run-on transcription, increased approximately 3-fold in these denervated muscles. These results suggest that the increase in AChE transcripts following denervation in the chicken is due, at least in part, to an increase in the rate of its synthesis.