Research on cholinesterases in the Soviet Union and Russia: A historical perspective

Research on cholinesterases and effects of their inhibition in the USSR and Russia since 1930-1940s till present is exposed in historical aspects. The first physiological and toxicological effects of cholinesterase inhibition were reported by Alexander Ginetsinsky during World War II, when academic institutions were evacuated from Leningrad to Kazan. The main scientific schools that initiated research on chemistry, enzymology and physiology of cholinesterases and their inhibitors were leaded by Alexandr and Boris Arbuzovs, Victor Rozengart, Viktor Yakovlev, Michael Michelson, Martin Kabachnik, Mikhail Voronkov, Ivan Knunyants, Alexandr Bretskin and others. They investigated the main physiological effects of cholinesterase inhibitors, and analyzed the catalytic mechanisms of cholinesterases and related enzymes. Their contributions are landmarks in the history of cholinesterase research. At the present time revival of research on cholinesterases in different universities and institutes is vivid, in particular at the Moscow State University, research institutes of Russian Academy of Sciences and Kazan Scientific Center.