Molecular Interactions of Acetylcholinesterase with the Synaptic Basal Lamina and the Senile Plaques

Abstract

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is an enzyme involved in cholinergic and non-cholinergic functions in both the central and peripheral nervous system (1), where it is secreted and becomes associated with extracellular structures, namely the synaptic basal lamina at the neuromuscular junction and the amyloid plaques of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) brain (1,2). For a number of years, we have been interested in the interactions that determine the disposition of asymmetric AChE at the cell surface and extracellular matrices.