Most acetylcholinesterase activity of non-nervous tissues and cells arises from the AChE-H transcript

While the functional implications of AChE-T, PRiMA and ColQ have been firmly established, those of glypiated AChE remain uncertain. Insights into the physiological meaning of glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-linked AChE-H were gained by comparing nervous and non-nervous tissues for the amount of AChE mRNA variants they contained. PCR showed that AChE-T mRNA prevailed in the mouse brain, spinal cord, sciatic nerve and muscle, and AChE-H mRNA in the bone marrow and thymus, as well as in the human gut. The similar levels of AChE-T and AChE-H mRNAs in mouse liver and human kidney contrasted with the almost exclusive presence of catalytically active AChE-H in both organs. The absence of PRiMA mRNA in liver suggested that the tetramers made of AChE-T fail to bind to the cell membrane and are secreted due to the lack of PRiMA in non-nervous organs. In contrast, glypiated AChE-H is largely and lastingly bound to the cell membrane. Thus, non-synaptic glypiated AChE-H seems to be the counterpart of synaptic PRiMA-linked AChE-T, the former designed for clearing ACh waves, the latter for confronting ACh bursts, and both for helping to protect cells against the harmful effects of durable nicotinic and muscarinic activation.