Clinical significance of acetylcholinesterase activity in brain tumors

Abstract

It has been established that the non-neuronal cholinergic system is related to the oncogenesis which increases the attractiveness of its components as the promising markers of oncologic diseases. The purpose of this work is to evaluate the clinical significance of the analysis of the activity of acetyl cholinesterase as a new marker of gliomas. The activity of acetyl cholinesterase was assessed by photo colorimetric analysis according to the Hestrin method recalculating the activity of the enzyme in the tumor tissue per 1 g of protein, and in the blood - by 0.1 g of hemoglobin. The data obtained in the primary tumors of the brain (28) in the tissue of the brain of persons who died as a result of injury (6) and in whole blood of patients with gliomas (28) and practically healthy people (10) were compared with the use of a number of statistical programs. A significant decrease in the activity of acetyl cholinesterase in tumor tissue and in whole blood is revealed as the degree of anaplasia of tumors increases, starting with Grade II. It is for the first time that a significant direct correlation was noted showing the consistency between the decrease in the activity of acetyl cholinesterase in the tumor tissue of the brain and blood. Bioinformatic analysis showed the connection of the enzyme of acetyl cholinesterase with proteins of the PI3K-AKT and Notch signaling pathways providing antiapoptotic and proliferative effects. The found dependences provide new insights into understanding of the mechanisms of gliomas genesis and can be used for selection of new diagnostic markers of brain tumors.

Serum Levels of BDNF, TNF alpha, Caspaz-3, AChE, BChE in Patients with Brain Tumor

“…Our study found that AChE decreased significantly as the malignancy increased from grade II tumors. This is our finding, Obukhova et al It has also been shown in a similar study (19).…”

“…When the averages of AChE enzyme were examined in terms of the number of days hospitalized in the patient group, a statistically significant difference was found between those who had 8-14 (1.05±0. 19) and 15-21 (0.35±0.19; p<0.05) hospitalization days (Figure 5). When we compared the mean levels of TNF-α, BDNF, Caspase-3, AChE, and BChE enzymes among different tumor pathologies in the patient group, there was no statistically significant difference found (p>0.05) for meningioma, epidermoid cyst, hemangioblastoma, and glial tumors.…”

Neurospecific Molecules Measured in Periphery in Humans: How Do They Correlate with the Brain Levels? A Systematic Review

“…In another in vivo study, acetylcholinesterase activity in brain gliomas and whole blood was highly intercorrelated, decreasing sharply in both specimens in the grade I to grade IV tumor groups [ 53 ]. Although this study did not meet review criterion #7 (“tumor studies not included”), the major argument for inclusion was that in patients with the lowest grade glioma (I), the levels of the acetylcholinesterase activity were similar to the reference values in the brain and blood obtained from healthy subjects [ 53 ].…”