RESUMEN
Diethylaminoethyl acetate, an acetylcholine analog, was formed upon the incubation of diethylaminoethanol and acetyl-CoA with bovine brain choline acetyltransferase (acetyl-CoA: choline O-acetyltransferase; EC 2.3.1.6). The new product co-chromatographed with authentic diethylaminoethyl acetate on thin layer plates, and its formation was proportional to the duration of incubation and enzyme concentrations. When tested on guinea-pig ileum, diethylaminoethyl acetate was found to be an agonist with an ED50 of 1.3 X 10(-4) M, compared to an ED50 of 2.0 X 10(-7) M for acetylcholine. The contraction of guinea-pig ileum induced by diethylaminoethyl acetate was blocked by atropine. Moreover, diethylaminoethyl acetate induced a secretion of alpha-amylase from isolated pancreatic acini cells; this effect was also blocked by atropine. It is entirely possible that diethylaminoethyl acetate can be a false cholinergic transmitter generated in vivo when drugs such as aprophen or procaine are administered to animals, since either of these drugs can undergo enzymatic hydrolysis to generate diethylaminoethanol. A method for the synthesis of radioactive diethylamino [1,2-14C]ethyl acetate was also described.