Acetylcholine (ACh)

Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter that plays a role in memory, learning, attention, arousal and involuntary muscle movement. Medical conditions associated with low acetylcholine levels include Alzheimer’s disease and myasthenia gravis. Researchers still need more studies to determine if choline supplements provide health benefits.

What is acetylcholine (ACh)?

Acetylcholine (ACh) is a neurotransmitter, a chemical that carries messages from your brain to your body through nerve cells. It’s an excitatory neurotransmitter. This means it “excites” the nerve cell and causes it to “fire off the message.”

It is an ester of choline and acetic acid. Acetylcholine was first isolated in 1914, and its role as a neurotransmitter was identified by the work of Otto Loewi. Acetylcholine is known to play an important role in memory and learning and to be inadequately available in Alzheimer’s disease. Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter at various synapses, nerves, and at the motor end plate of vertebrate muscles. When a nerve impulse arrives at the nerve ending, acetylcholine stored in vesicles, is released, and binds to a postsynaptic receptor, causing depolarization. Since acetylcholine is degraded by the enzyme acetylcholinesterase, it has a brief duration of action. Inhibitors of the enzyme, however, prolong the lifetime of acetylcholine. Nerve gases and organophosphates lead to accumulation of acetylcholine and associated toxicity. Acetylcholine receptor agonists are used to treat myasthenia gravis and Alzheimer’s disease.

Acetylcholine gets its name from the two substances that it’s made from — an acetyl group (acetyl coenzyme A, which comes from the sugar molecule glucose) and the nutrient choline. Choline is naturally present in foods, including egg yolks, soy, liver, seeds of vegetables and legumes. Choline is also made in your liver.

Acetylcholine is involved in many important functions in your body. It plays a major role in voluntary muscle movement all over your body. This is muscle movement you control. Nerve cells stimulate muscle nerve cells, causing muscles to contract. It also plays an important role in brain nerve cells, in such processes as memory, thinking and learning.

How is acetylcholine (ACh) made?

An enzyme called choline acetyltransferase causes a reaction between choline and the acetyl group to create acetylcholine. It’s made at the end of nerve cells.

How does acetylcholine (ACh) work?

Acetylcholine is stored at the end of nerve cells until it’s triggered to be released. Once released from the end of the nerve cell, it moves into a space called the synaptic cleft. The synaptic cleft is between the nerve cell from which acetylcholine was released (the presynaptic nerve cell) and the next nerve cell acetylcholine is going to (the postsynaptic nerve cell).

Once acetylcholine moves across the synapse, it can bind to two types of receptors: nicotinic receptors and muscarinic receptors. There are two subtypes of nicotinic receptors and five types of muscarinic receptors. After binding to the receptors, the chemical message moves along to the next nerve cell and then the process repeats until the message arrives at its destination.

Acetylcholine in the synapse is broken down by an enzyme called acetylcholinesterase into choline and acetate. These products are reabsorbed and recycled so they can be used again in transmitting another chemical message.

What does acetylcholine (ACh) do?

Acetylcholine has many roles.

When it binds to muscarinic receptors, it:

·         Regulates heart contractions and blood pressure and decreases heart rate.

·         Moves food through your intestine by contracting intestinal muscles and increasing stomach and intestine secretions.

·         Causes glands to secrete substances such as tears, saliva, milk, sweat and digestive juices.

·         Controls the release of urine.

·         Contracts muscles that control near vision.

·         Causes an erection.

When it binds to nicotinic receptors, it:

·         Allows skeletal muscle to contract.

·         Causes the release of adrenaline and norepinephrine from your adrenal glands.

·         Activates your sympathetic system with the release of norepinephrine.

·         Both types of receptors are involved in memory, including long-term and working memory, memory formation and consolidation and retrieval.

Within your brain, acetylcholine is also involved in motivation, arousal, attention, learning and promoting rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.

Where is acetylcholine (ACh) found?

Acetylcholine is found in your central nervous system (CNS), your brain and spinal cord, as well as in your peripheral nervous system (the nerves that branch out from your CNS and connect with all other parts of your body, including muscles and organs).

Where does acetylcholine (ACh) work?

Acetylcholine is released both in your central nervous system (CNS), your brain and spinal cord, as well as in your peripheral nervous system (the nerves that branch out from your CNS and connect with all other parts of your body, including muscles and organs).

In your brain, acetylcholine originates from two major places: the basal forebrain and the mesopontine tegmentum area.

In your peripheral nervous system, acetylcholine is released into the neuromuscular junction. This is where nerves meet muscle cells.

Acetylcholine also plays a significant role in your autonomic nervous system, a branch of your peripheral nervous system. Your autonomic nervous system regulates many of the automatic functions of your body, such as the proper functioning of your internal organs.

Acetylcholine is also involved in your immune system and is secreted by T lymphocytes. T lymphocytes are a type of body-protective white blood cell.

What medical conditions are associated with low levels of acetylcholine (ACh)?

Low levels (deficiency) of acetylcholine play an important role in several diseases, the most common being:

Alzheimer’s disease. People who have Alzheimer’s disease don’t have enough acetylcholine in their brains.

Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome. This disorder is caused by a reduction in the release of acetylcholine from nerve cells.

Myasthenia gravis. This is an autoimmune disorder in which there’s a rapid weakening of skeletal muscles after repeated use. Some of the body’s antibodies interfere with acetylcholine receptors at the neuromuscular junction.

What other substances interrupt acetylcholine (ACh)?

Unfortunately, knowledge of how acetylcholine works in the body has been used to cause harm.

Nerve gases, such as sarin, and pesticides inhibit acetylcholinesterase, the enzyme that breaks down acetylcholine. A buildup of acetylcholine in the synapse paralyzes muscles, which can lead to death.

One type of spider causes harm to humans in a unique way. The venom from the bite of a black widow spider dramatically raises the acetylcholine level causing severe muscle contractions, spasms, paralysis and possible death.

Is acetylcholine (ACh) present in food?

Choline, which is converted into acetylcholine, is found in many foods, including:

·         Beef liver.

·         Eggs.

·         Beef top round.

·         Roasted soybeans, canned kidney beans.

·         Roasted chicken breast.

·         Cod.

·         Cooked quinoa.

·         Cooked shiitake mushrooms, boiled broccoli and Brussels sprouts.

·         Milk (1%), nonfat vanilla yoghurt.

1)      https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/24568-acetylcholine-ach

2)      https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780123864543002189?via%3Dihub