EFFECTS OF MICROWAVE IRRADIATION ON ACETYLCHOLINE CONTENT AND CHOLINE ACETYLTRANSFERASE ACTIVITY IN MOUSE BRAIN
微波辐射对小鼠脑内乙酰胆碱含量及胆碱乙酸转移酶活性的影响

Male Kunming mice (18-20 g) were ac utely irradiated in a screened chamber with continuous waves of 2450 MHz microwave at power density of 10mW/ cm2 (WBASAR of about 11.4W/Kg) for 1 hr. Immediately after irradiation, the decapitation of the animals, the removal of brains and the preperation of samples were rapidly carried out with he conventional method. Then brain ace tvlcholine (ACh) contents and choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activities were determined by the radioimmunoassay. The ACh content and the ChAT activity in the mouse brain were found to be 11.6 1.1 pmol/mg (wet brain weight) and 45.4±8.7 pmol ACh/min ·mg (wet brain weight) after irradiation, respectively. In control mice, the ccmparable values were 16.0±2.1 and 61.0±13.8, respectively. It showed that exposure to microwave irradiation might cause the reduction of the ACh level and the ChAT activity in the animal brains, which suggested that adverse influences of the microwave radiation on the central cholinergic system did exist.