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Distribution of acetyl cholinesterase in the hippocampal region of the guinea pig

III. The dentate area

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Summary

1. The distribution of acetyl cholinesterase (AChE) has been described in the dentate area, a part of the hippocampal region, in the adult guinea pig. The enzyme was demonstrated histochemically with a modification of the Koelle thiocholine method applied to formaldehyde-fixed frozen sections and unfixed cryostat sections. Non-specific cholinesterase was suppressed by ethopropazine, while the staining reaction for AChE was controlled by complete specific inhibition with BW 284c51. A single brain was stained according to the method of Karnovsky and Roots.

2. The abundant AChE found in the dentate area exhibited a distinctly stratified distribution pattern. In the molecular layer, strong reaction was present in the outer third and immediately above the granular cell layer, the intermediate zone being light. The granular cell bodies were unstained. In the hilus, five layers showing alternating stronger and weaker reaction for AChE were recognizable.

3. In view of the opinions of Cajal, Lorente de Nó, and Blackstad criteria for the definition of the dentate area are discussed. The present results fit into a concept of a layered guinea pig hilus representative of one group of mammals (other members being rabbit, monkey, and man) differing morphologically from the non-layered hilus of rat and mouse. The distribution of metal in the guinea pig hilus supports the concept.

4. Possible structural correlates to the AChE are considered and a comparison with the distribution of AChE in the rat, reported earlier, has been made. In the molecular layer, the most striking difference was the heavy activity observed in the outer third in the guinea pig, where the content is moderate in the rat. The granular cell layer appeared virtually identical in both species. In the hilus the stratified pattern in the guinea pig, contrasting with the more diffuse distribution in the rat, essentially reflects the differing structural architectonics in the hilus of the two species.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Anatomy, University of Aarhus, Denmark

    F. A. Geneser-Jensen

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  1. F. A. Geneser-Jensen
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I am indebted to Mrs. L. Knudsen, Mr. A. Meier, Mr. Th. Nielsen, Mrs. K. Sørensen, Miss M. Sørensen, and Miss B. Ørum for skillful technical assistance.

This study was supported in part by U.S.P.H.S. Grant NS 07998.

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Geneser-Jensen, F.A. Distribution of acetyl cholinesterase in the hippocampal region of the guinea pig. Z.Zellforsch 131, 481–495 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00306966

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