Effect of spinal cord ischemia on axonal transport of cholinergic enzymes in rabbit sciatic nerve

The fast axonal transport of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and the slow transport of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) were measured by the stop-flow ligation technique in the sciatic nerve of rabbits 6 and 24 h after ischemia performed by the occlusion of the abdominal aorta which lasted 40 min. Activities of these enzymes were also measured in punched samples of the spinal cord (L5-6). Results were correlated with those obtained from the sham-operated control group. Six h after ischemia, its only apparent effect was a different distribution of accumulated enzymes in the central nerve segments. Twenty-four h after ischemia, the transport of AChE was markedly depressed; proximodistal accumulation decreased by 68%, whereas enzyme activity in the intact contralateral nerve and in the ventral horns of the spinal cord was preserved. No effect of ischemia on the retrograde axonal transport of AChE was observed in this experimental model. Cytoplasmic ChAT is much more susceptible to necrotic degeneration than membrane-bound AChE; 24 h after ischemia its activity decreased significantly in all investigated parts of the sciatic motoneurones but the rate of slow axonal transport did not seem to be affected.