TY - JOUR TI - The role of butyrylcholinesterase in neural stem cell differentiation DO - https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T38P62Z4 PY - 2017 AB - Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) is the evolutionary counterpart to acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Both enzymes appear early in nervous system development prior to cholinergic synapse formation. The organophosphate pesticide chlorpyrifos (CPS) primarily exerts toxicity through inhibition of AChE, which results in excess cholinergic stimulation at the synapse. We hypothesized that CPS inhibition of AChE and BChE may impair neurogenesis in neural stem cells (NSCs). To model neurodevelopment in vitro, we used human NSCs derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). After six days of differentiation, BChE activity and mRNA expression significantly increased, while AChE activity and expression remained unchanged. Utilizing CPS as a tool to inhibit the enzymatic activity of the enzymes resulted in 82% and 97% inhibition of AChE and BChE, respectively. CPS exposure had no obvious effect on cell morphology, viability or the expression of differentiation markers HES5, DCX or MAP2. However, shRNA-knockdown of BChE expression resulted in significantly decreased expression of bHLH transcription factors HES5 and HES3, and significantly increased expression of HES1 and the Notch pathway ligand Jagged 1 (JAG1). Results indicate BChE may have a role in the differentiation of NSCs independent of, or in addition to, its enzymatic activity. KW - Toxicology KW - Butyrylcholinesterase LA - eng ER -