Spinal cord acetylcholine content: the consequence of transection or treatment with the neurotoxin...

The distribution of choline (Ch) and acetylcholine (ACh) within the rat spinal cord was found to be rather uniform with values for Ch of about 280 pmol/mg protein and for ACh of about 250 pmol/mg protein. Cord transection at the T10-11 level did not reduce ACh below the lesion but there was about a 30% decrease of ACh in the thoracic region suggesting the presence of cholinergic fibers that ascend and terminate within the cord. Treatment of rats with the neurotoxin 6-aminonicotinamide resulted in spastic hindlimb paralysis and a loss of ACh in the lumbar region of the cord.