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The Placental Cholinergic System: Localization to the Cytotrophoblast and Modulation of Nitric Oxide by Md Badiul Bhuiyan; Ferid Murad; Michael E Fant is a Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology article available to read on EtoBox.

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## Background The human placenta, a non-neuronal tissue, contains an active cholinergic system comprised of acetylcholine (ACh), choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and high affinity muscarinic receptors. The cell(s) of origin of placental ACh and its role in trophoblast function has not been defined. These studies were performed to define the cellular location of ACh synthesis (ChAT) in the human placenta and to begin studying its functional role. ## Results Using immunohistochemical techniques, ChAT was observed primarily within the cytotrophoblasts of preterm placentae as well as some mesenchymal elements. Similar intense immunostaining of the cytotrophoblast was observed for endothelium-derived nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) suggesting that ACh may interact with nitric oxide (NO)-dependent signaling pathways. The ability of carbamylcholine (CCh), an ACh analogue, to stimulate a rise in intracellular Ca^++^ and NO production in trophoblasts was therefore tested using the BeWo^b30^ choriocarcinoma cell as a model system. First, CCh significantly increased intracellular calcium as assessed by fluorescence microscopy. We then examined the ability of CCh to

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Author

Md Badiul Bhuiyan; Ferid Murad; Michael E Fant

Publisher

BioMed Central; Springer (Biomed Central Ltd.); [London]: BioMed Central, c2003-; Springer Science and Business Media LLC (ISSN 1478-811X)

Published

2006

Language

EN

Field

Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (Life Sciences)