Developmental changes and acetylcholinesterase activity in the metamorphosing brain ofTenebrio molitor: Correlation to ecdysteroid titers

The brain of Tenebrio molitor exhibited marked fluctuations in acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity throughout metamorphosis. This was true AChE activity, since it was inhibited by high substrate concentrations and by 10 μM of the specific AChE inhibitor BW284C51 [(1,5-bis'4-allyldimethylammoniumphenyl)-pentan-3-one dibromide] but not by iso-OMPA (tetraisopropylpyrophosphoramide), a cholinesterase (but not AChE) inhibitor. The histochemical AChE activity was localized in the neuropile and the nuclear envelope of neurons and glial cells. The enzyme extracted from brains with 1% Triton X-100 and 1 M NaCl sedimented as a single peak in a sucrose density gradient, with a sedimentation coefficie…