Table 5.

The expression and function of choline acetyltransferase, acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase

	Age group	Ascending	Descending	Region comparison (adult)
Choline acetyltransferase (ChAT)
ChAT function (pmol/min/mg)	35–60 years	687±65 (8)	567±83 (10)	P value=0.64
	≥70 years	688±76 (10)	890±71 (10)
	Age comparison	P value=1.00	P value=0.01
ChAT expression (ng/mg)	35–60 years	12.1±2.0 (8)	9.0±0.9 (9)	P value=0.27
	≥70 years	12.2±1.1 (10)	10.1±0.9 (10)
	Age comparison	P value=1.00	P value=0.90
ChAT specific activity (pmol/ng/min)	35–60 years	67±11 (8)	67±13 (9)	P value=1.00
	≥70 years	63±10 (10)	97±12 (10)
	Age comparison	P value=1.00	P value=0.21
Acetyl cholinesterase (AChE)
AChE function (nmol/min/mg)	35–60 years	1045±379 (7)	700±132 (8)	P value =0.65
	≥70 years	451±160 (8)	590±196 (7)
	Age comparison	P value=0.21	P value=0.98
AChE expression (ng/mg)	35–60 years	3.8±1.0 (8)	3.1±0.5 (8)	P value=0.89
	≥70 years	2.7±0.6 (10)	2.3±0.5 (10)
	Age comparison	P value=0.63	P value=0.80
AChE specific activity (nmol/min/mg)	35–60 years	221±46 (7)	251±20 (7)	P value=0.96
	≥70 years	199±66 (8)	207±37 (7)
	Age comparison	P value=0.98	P value=0.89
Butryl cholinesterase (BChE)
BChE function (nmol/min/mg)	35–60 years	967±295 (7)	620±103 (10)	P value =0.42
	≥70 years	796±197 (9)	556±75 (10)
	Age comparison	P value=0.87	P value=0.99
BChE expression (ng/mg)	35–60 years	573±140 (8)	325±84 (10)	P value=0.16
	≥70 years	352±70 (10)	292±45 (10)
	Age comparison	P value=0.24	P value=0.99
BChE-specific activity (nmol/min/mg)	35–60 years	1.9±0.4 (7)	3.2±0.8 (10)	P value=0.50
	≥70 years	2.2±0.4 (9)	2.6±0.7 (10)
	Age comparison	P value=0.99	P value=0.89

Assays were performed in muscle biopsies taken from patients undergoing resections of the ascending or descending colon. The n values are in parenthesis.