Not available outside of the UK & Ireland.

Analysis Note

Starting material individually donor tested and found negative for HIV I & II antibodies, Hepatitis B surfaceantigen, and Hepatitis C antibodies.

Application

BchE, from Sigma, has been used to determine butyrylcholinesterase inhibition by various test compounds .

Butyrylcholinesterase human has been used to study its role as a modulator of pathological features of Alzheimer′s disease (AD) in vivo.

Biochem/physiol Actions

Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) is a serine hydrolase that shares substantial structural similarities with acetylcholinesterase (AchE) but has different substrate and inhibitor specificities. It is found in the serum, hemopoietic cells, liver, lung, heart and the central nervous system of vertebrates. BChE hydrolyzes large esters of choline such as butyrylcholine and benzoylcholine. Selective inhibition of BChE activity can be used in the detection of organophosphates. BchE may be used to treat organophosphate toxicity. It is a critical target for Alzheimer′s disease (AD) therapy.

Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) is a serine hydrolase that shares substantial structural similarities with acetylcholinesterase (AchE) but has different substrate and inhibitor specificities. BChE is found in the serum, hemopoietic cells, liver, lung, heart and the central nervous system of vertebrates.

Unit Definition

One unit will hydrolyze 1.0 µmole of butyrylcholine to choline and butyrate per min at pH 8.0 at 37 °C. The activity obtained using butyrylcholine as substrate is ~2.5 times that obtained using acetylcholine.