Cholinacetylase in Innervated and Denervated Sympathetic Ganglia and Ganglion Cells of the Cat

Abstract >Cholinacetylase (ChAc) activity was determined in normal and denervated lumbosacral sympathetic ganglia of the cat. Preganglionic denervation resulted in 98 per cent decrease of the ChAc. The postsynaptic ChAc activity was related to the proportion of presumably cholinergic cell bodies in the denervated ganglion. ChAc was found in about 13 per cent of the cell bodies in the 7th lumbar ganglion before as well as after denervation. The average enzyme activity in the cell decreased by about 50 per cent after denervation. The results indicate that ChAc is rather specifically located in cholinergic presynaptic and postsynaptic structures. The data favour the concept that sympathetic ganglia of the cat contain at least two different cell populations with distinct cytochemical, histochemical and pharmacological characteristics.