The Homeostasis of Brain Choline

The interest in the homeostasis of brain choline is reinforced by the role of choline as immediate precursor of acetylcholine, phosphatidylcholine and other phospholipids in the brain. In order to obtain a comprehensive view of the mochanisms of homeostasis it appeared necessary to elucidate the negative arteriovenous difference of choline across the brain (net release), a phenomenon that has been known for 20 years and is present in mammals and in man. This finding prompted an intense search for a de novo synthesis of choline in the brain. We detected in anaesthetized rats a reversal of the net release into a net uptake (positive arterio-venous difference), when the plasma level of choline…