Acetylcholinesterase Activity in the Human Thymus during Immune Response

摘要

The purpose of this paper is to study the amounts of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity during the immune response in the human thymus. AChE activity was analysed by biochemical and histoenzymatic methods in 7 immunostimulated (treated) and 7 non-immuno-stimulated (untreated) patients. Immunostimulation was obtained using the interferon drug for 6 months. After histoenzymatic staining of AChE activity, the slides containing the samples of thymus of treated and untreated patients underwent quantitative analysis of images. The results provide direct evidence that the immune response increases the level of AChE-positive structures contained in the human thymus. Treatment with interferon is also capable of increasing the protein content of the thymus. The biochemical data together with the histoenzymatical result, provide direct evidence for a specific localization of AChE in structures resembling nerve fibers and/or in lymphatic structures of the thymic gland.