Fiber type and non-endplate acetylcholinesterase in normal and experimentally altered muscles

The non-endplate (sarcoplasmic) acetylcholinesterase (AChE) was investigated in eight different muscles of the rat. Serial consecutive sections were stained for AChE, myofibrillar ATPase (after alkaline and acid preincubation), and cytochrome C-oxidase. The following general correlation could be established: within a given muscle the sarcoplasmic AChE was highest in type IIB fibers, lowest in type I and intermediate in type IIA. Additionally, the intensity of the reaction was directly proportional to the size of the type IIA fibers. The distribution of sarcoplasmic AChE was correlated to the ATPase fiber types but was complementary to the cytochrome C-oxidase staining pattern. In single fiber preparations, accumulation of AChE at the myotendinous junction was found to occur in "cap-like" form exclusively in fibers with very low or absent sarcoplasmic AChE. To study the role of innervation in the expression of the sarcoplasmic AChE, we cross-reinnervated the extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscle with the soleus (SOL) nerve and vice versa (X-EDL, X-SOL). In the X-EDL the sarcoplasmic AChE was transformed to that of a normal SOL as were also the ATPase and the cytochrome oxidase. Surprisingly, in the X-SOL the high AChE activity typical for a normal EDL was present after 3 weeks but decreased steadily to very low levels lacking any correlation with ATPase and cytochrome oxidase. The results suggest that the cytoplasmic AChE of the SOL muscle depends more on the load-bearing function of the muscle than on the imposed impulse pattern. There is additional evidence for a retrograde effect of the X-SOL upon its motoneurons.