The Effect of Cycloheximide on Butyrylcholinesterase Activity in Vivo

The paper describes the catalytic activity of butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) measured in plasma, liver, white adipose tissue, heart, and brain of rats intraperitoneally administered a single non-lethal dose of cycloheximide (2.0 mg/kg body weight; CHM). The BuChE assay was performed on rats of both sexes either administered CHM or saline (controls), and killed 2, 3, 4, 5, 10 days later. A significant decrease of BuChE catalytic activity was observed in all tested tissues except plasma. In animals of both sexes, the lowest BuChE catalytic activity was found in the liver (2-6%), while it was higher in white adipose tissue, heart, and brain. However, the respective values remained significantly different from controls (33-67%, 49-62%, and 14-71% in males, and 24-82%, 72-86%, and 33-67% in females). Since there was no effect of CHM on BuChE catalytic activity in plasma, the data suggest that CHM inhibits the synthesis of BuChE rather than its active site.