[Immunohistochemical analysis of tumor cells using choline acetyltransferase (author's transl)]

For an immunohistochemical analysis of cellular function of tumors, as related to acetylcholine, the antibody to choline acetyltransferase from bovine brain was obtained in guinea pigs. The specificity of the antibody was immunohistochemically studied in the cervical spinal cord of the mouse. And the findings coincided well with the biochemically and histochemically data on the distribution of choline acetyltransferase or acetylcholinesterase in the spinal cord. The choline acetyltransferase activity in the tumor cells at 6-10 days after subculture was 2.26 nmol/1 x 10(5) cells/hr in glioblastoma, 1.77 nmol/1 x 10(5) cells/hr in C-1300 and 1.45 nmol/1 x 10(5) cells/hr in sarcoma and the difference was statistical. In the immunohistochemical cell staining of these tumors, the rate of fluorescence-positive cells was 82.0% in glioblastoma, 37.3% in C-1300 and 4.2% in sarcoma. These findings coincide well with data on the enzymatic activity. The antibody is applicable not only in the field of the immunohistochemistry, but also for a mechanical analysis of cells at the single cell level, as demonstrated by Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorter (FACS).