Chromodacryorrhea in rats: absence following soman poisoning

Chromodacryorrhea is the secretion of so-called "bloody tears" from the harderian gland which nearly circumscribes the eye within the bony orbit. Direct-acting cholinergic agonists such as oxotremorine, carbachol, and pilocarpine caused chromodacryorrhea but nicotine did not. Atropine blocked chromodacryorrhea induced by systemic administration of direct-acting cholinergic agonists. Thus, chromodacryorrhea appears to be a muscarinic receptor-related event. Soman (pinacolyl methylphosphonofluoridate), a potent irreversible inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase which increases the synaptic concentration of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, did not induce chromodacryorrhea in rats. Similarly, physostigmine, a tertiary, carbamate acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, did not induce chromodacryorrhea. In vivo soman-induced inhibition of harderian gland acetylcholinesterase was independent of the soman dose and the inhibition was significantly less than brain acetylcholinesterase. In vitro soman-induced inhibition of harderian gland acetylcholinesterase was not significantly different from that of diaphragm acetylcholinesterase. The lack of inhibition of acetylcholinesterase in the harderian gland does not appear to be due to a difference in sensitivity to inhibition by soman. The distribution of the various molecular forms of acetylcholinesterase between the diaphragm and harderian gland was different. There was a great deal more of the 4S form of acetylcholinesterase in the harderian gland than in the diaphragm. The lack of the following, inhibition of harderian gland acetylcholinesterase and elevation of the synaptic concentration of acetylcholine, could explain the absence of chromodacryorrhea following soman poisoning. The discrepancy between the significant soman-induced inhibition of brain acetylcholinesterase and the lack of inhibition of harderian gland acetylcholinesterase allows one to speculate that there may be a very efficient scavenger of soman present in the rat harderian gland.