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Acetylcholine is a choline molecule that has been acetylated at the oxygen atom. Because of the charged ammonium group, acetylcholine does not penetrate lipid membranes. . Because of this, when the molecule is introduced externally, it remains in the extracellular space and at present it is considered that the molecule does not pass through the blood–brain
It is produced during the breakdown of glucose, fatty acids, and amino acids, and is used in the synthesis of many other biomolecules, including cholesterol, fatty acids, and ketone bodies. Acetyl-CoA is also a key molecule in the citric acid cycle , which is a series of chemical reactions that occur in the mitochondria of cells and is ...
Acetylcholine is even present in the placenta and may help control cell proliferation and differentiation (increases in cell number and changes of multiuse cells into dedicated cellular functions) and parturition. [40] [41] Choline uptake into the brain is controlled by a low-affinity transporter located at the blood–brain barrier. [42]
Choline acetyltransferase was first described by David Nachmansohn and A. L. Machado in 1943. [6] A German biochemist, Nachmansohn had been studying the process of nerve impulse conduction and utilization of energy-yielding chemical reactions in cells, expanding upon the works of Nobel laureates Otto Warburg and Otto Meyerhof on fermentation, glycolysis, and muscle contraction.
Acetylcholine is synthesized in the cytoplasm of the neuron from choline and acetyl-CoA. Choline acetyltransferase is the enzyme that synthesizes acetylcholine and is often used as a marker in research relating to acetylcholine production. Neurons that utilize acetylcholine are called cholinergic neurons and they are very important in muscle ...
The fate of internalized choline depends on the cell type. In pre-synaptic neurons the majority of choline will be acetylated by the enzyme choline acetyltransferase to form the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Most other cells will phosphorylate choline by the enzyme choline kinase, the first committed step of CDP-choline pathway.
Phospholipid arrangement in cell membranes. Phosphatidylcholine is the major component of lecithin . It is also a source for choline in the synthesis of acetylcholine in cholinergic neurons.
The enzyme acetylcholine esterase breaks down the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is released at nerve and muscle junctions, in order to allow the muscle or organ to relax. The result of acetylcholine esterase inhibition is that acetylcholine builds up and continues to act so that any nerve impulses are continually transmitted and muscle ...