Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) peptides are expressed and regulated in sensory afferents of the micturition pathway. Although these studies have implicated PACAP in bladder control, the physiological significance of these observations has not been firmly established. To clarify these issues, the roles of PACAP and PACAP signaling in micturition and cystitis were examined in receptor characterization and physiological assays. PACAP receptors were identified in various tissues of the micturition pathway, including bladder detrusor smooth muscle and urothelium. Bladder smooth muscle expressed heterogeneously PAC 1null, PAC1HOP1, and VPAC2 receptors; the urothelium was more restricted in expressing preferentially the PAC 1 receptor subtype only. Immunocytochemical studies for PAC 1 receptors were consistent with these tissue distributions. Furthermore, the addition of 50 -100 nM PACAP27 or PACAP38 to isolated bladder strips elicited transient contractions and sustained increases in the amplitude of spontaneous phasic contractions. Treatment of the bladder strips with tetrodotoxin (1 M) did not alter the spontaneous phasic contractions suggesting direct PACAP effects on bladder smooth muscle. PACAP also increased the amplitude of nerve-evoked contractions. By contrast, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide had no direct effects on bladder smooth muscle. In a rat cyclophosphamide (CYP)-induced cystitis paradigm, intrathecal or intravesical administration of PAC 1 receptor antagonist, PACAP6 -38, reduced cystitis-induced bladder overactivity. In summary, these studies support roles for PACAP in micturition and suggest that inflammation-induced plasticity in PACAP expression in peripheral and central micturition pathways contribute to bladder dysfunction with cystitis.neuropeptides; urinary bladder; bladder overactivity; dorsal root ganglia; spinal cord; inflammation THE STORAGE AND PERIODIC ELIMINATION of urine requires a complex neural control system that coordinates the activities of the smooth muscle of the urinary bladder and the smooth and striated muscle of the urethral sphincters (13,32,33). Coordination between these organs is mediated by a complex neural control system located in the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral ganglia (12). Experiments with a chemically (cyclophosphamide, CYP)-induced bladder inflammation (11, 34,38) rodent model have demonstrated alterations in neurochemical (52, 53, 66, 69), electrophysiological (29, 72), organizational (65, 68), and functional properties of the micturition reflex (24, 38, 39), suggesting dramatic reorganization of the micturition reflex pathways. Alterations in peripheral bladder afferent (sensory)/ efferent (autonomic and motor) and central interneuronal pathway functions may underlie detrusor overactivity that accompany CYP-induced cystitis.Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) peptides have diverse functions in the endocrine, nervous, gastrointestinal, and cardiovascular systems (1, 6) through PAC 1 , VPAC 1 and VPAC ...

When the urinary bladder is full, activation of parasympathetic nerves causes release of neurotransmitters that induce forceful contraction of the detrusor muscle, leading to urine voiding. The roles of ion channels that regulate contractility of urinary bladder smooth muscle (UBSM) in response to activation of parasympathetic nerves are not well known. The present study was designed to characterize the role of large (BK)- and small-conductance (SK) Ca(2+)-activated K(+) (K(Ca)) channels in regulating UBSM contractility in response to physiological levels of nerve stimulation in UBSM strips from mice. Nerve-evoked contractions were induced by electric field stimulation (0.5-50 Hz) in isolated strips of UBSM. BK and SK channel inhibition substantially increased the amplitude of nerve-evoked contractions up to 2.45 +/- 0.12- and 2.99 +/- 0.25-fold, respectively. When both SK and BK channels were inhibited, the combined response was additive. Inhibition of L-type voltage-dependent Ca(2+) channels (VDCCs) in UBSM inhibited nerve-evoked contractions by 92.3 +/- 2.0%. These results suggest that SK and BK channels are part of two distinct negative feedback pathways that limit UBSM contractility in response to nerve stimulation by modulating the activity of VDCCs. Dysfunctional regulation of UBSM contractility by alterations in BK/SK channel expression or function may underlie pathologies such as overactive bladder.

Contraction of urinary bladder smooth muscle (UBSM) is caused by the release of ATP andACh from parasympathetic nerves. Although both purinergic and muscarinic pathways are important to contraction, their relative contributions and signalling mechanisms are not well understood. Here, the contributions of each pathway to urinary bladder contraction and the underlying electrical and Ca 2+ signalling events were examined in UBSM strips from wild type mice and mice deficient in P2X1 receptors (P2X1 −/− ) before and after pharmacological inhibition of purinergic and muscarinic receptors. Electrical field stimulation was used to excite parasympathetic nerves to increase action potentials, Ca 2+ flash frequency, and force. Loss of P2X1 function not only eliminated action potentials and Ca 2+ flashes during stimulation, but it also led to a significant increase in Ca 2+ flashes following stimulation and a corresponding increase in the force transient. Block of muscarinic receptors did not affect action potentials or Ca 2+ flashes during stimulation, but prevented them following stimulation. These findings indicate that nerve excitation leads to rapid engagement of smooth muscle P2X1 receptors to increase action potentials (Ca 2+ flashes) during stimulation, and a delayed increase in excitability in response to muscarinic receptor activation. Together, purinergic and muscarinic stimulation shape the time course of force transients. Furthermore, this study reveals a novel inhibitory effect of P2X1 receptor activation on subsequent increases in muscarinic-driven excitability and force generation.

Large-conductance Ca(2+)-activated potassium (BK) channels play an important role in regulating the function and activity of urinary bladder smooth muscle (UBSM), and the loss of BK channel function has been shown to increase UBSM excitability and contractility. However, it is not known whether activation of BK channels has the converse effect of reducing UBSM excitability and contractility. Here, we have sought to investigate this possibility by using the novel BK channel opener NS11021. NS11021 (3 microM) caused an approximately threefold increase in both single BK channel open probability (P(o)) and whole cell BK channel currents. The frequency of spontaneous action potentials in UBSM strips was reduced by NS11021 from a control value of 20.9 + or - 5.9 to 10.9 + or - 3.7 per minute. NS11021 also reduced the force of UBSM spontaneous phasic contractions by approximately 50%, and this force reduction was blocked by pretreatment with the BK channel blocker iberiotoxin. NS11021 (3 microM) had no effect on contractions evoked by nerve stimulation. These findings indicate that activating BK channels reduces the force of UBSM spontaneous phasic contractions, principally through decreasing the frequency of spontaneous action potentials.

Background Decreased gallbladder smooth muscle (GBSM) contractility is a hallmark of cholesterol gallstone disease, but the interrelationship between lithogenicity, biliary stasis and inflammation are poorly understood. We studied a mouse model of gallstone disease to evaluate the development of GBSM dysfunction relative to changes in bile composition and the onset of sterile cholecystitis. Methods BALB/cJ mice were fed a lithogenic diet for up to 8 weeks, and tension generated by gallbladder muscle strips was measured. Smooth muscle Ca2+ transients were imaged in intact gallbladder. Key Results Lipid composition of bile was altered lithogenically as early as one week, with increased hydrophobicity and cholesterol saturation indexes; however, inflammation was not detectable until the fourth week. Agonist-induced contractility was reduced from weeks 2 through 8. GBSM normally exhibits rhythmic synchronized Ca2+ flashes, and their frequency is increased by carbachol (3μM). After one week, lithogenic diet-fed mice exhibited disrupted Ca2+ flash activity, manifesting as clustered flashes, asynchronous flashes or prolonged quiescent periods. These changes could lead to a depletion of intracellular Ca2+ stores, which are required for agonist-induced contraction, and diminished basal tone of the organ. Responsiveness of Ca2+ transients to carbachol was reduced in mice on the lithogenic diet, particularly after 4-8 weeks, concomitant with appearance of mucosal inflammatory changes. Conclusions & Inferences These observations demonstrate that GBSM dysfunction is an early event in the progression of cholesterol gallstone disease and that it precedes mucosal inflammation.