Axoplasmic transport and turnaround of neurotoxic esterase in hen sciatic nerve

We have recently found that there is a proximo-distal delay in the recovery of neurotoxic esterase (NTE) following inhibition along the sciatic nerve of the hen. To determine whether this delay could be due to a requirement for the transport of newly synthesized NTE from the cell body, we investigated the transport of NTE by measuring the rate of accumulation of activity at either one or two ligations. Although rapid turnaround of accumulated protein confounds calculation of the transport rate, it appeared that NTE is transported down the hen sciatic nerve at a rate close to 300 mm/day. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) was found to be transported at a rate of about 500 mm/day, which is close to the expected rate of fast axoplasmic transport in the chicken. The relatively rapid turnaround of NTE compared with the retrograde transport rate precluded the estimation of a retrograde transport rate. A model is presented that accounts for turnaround as a result of exchange between mobile and stationary transport pools. Exchange of NTE between pools may account for the rapid turnaround of NTE described in this paper and for the proximo-distal delay in recovery as a dilution of newly synthesized NTE in the anterograde fast transport pool by inhibited protein as it travels down the nerve.