A study of pseudocholinesterase induction in experimental obesity

Liver pseudocholinesterase (PChE) activity was significantly higher in genetically obese (ob/ob) mice than in lean littermates as early as 23 days after birth. By cytochemical electron microscopy, increased staining for PChE was observed in the rough endoplasmic reticulum of ob/ob mice. Albino mice with different diets showed that high-protein diets produced the greatest increase in PChE activity in the liver compared to carbohydrate or high fat. Mice fed a normal mouse diet ad lib had significantly higher liver PChE activity than those fed a restricted diet of 2 g of a normal mouse chow per day. In albino mice liver PChE activity varied directly with the protein content in the diet. These studies suggest that liver PChE induction is a function of the level of protein in the diet.