ENZYMES OF GRAY MATTER AND WHITE MATTER OF DOG BRAIN

Abstract

Observations were made on the activity of the cholinesterases (hydrolysis of acetylcholine, acetyl-β-methyIcholine, and benzoylcholine), common esterase (hydrolysis of tributyrin in the presence of 10^-5 M eserine), acid and alkaline phosphomonoesterases (hydrolysis of disodium phenyl phosphate at pH 4.9 and pH 9.9-10), amylase (hydrolysis of soluble starch and glycogen) and β-glucu ronidase (hydrolysis of phenolphthalein mono-β-glucuronide) in the gray matter and the white matter of the brains of a series of dogs. With the exception of the β-glucuronidase, the concentration of each of these enzymes, when expressed on a wet weight basis, was greater in the gray matter than in the white matter, although the relative concentrations differed for each enzyme.