Neurohormonal Control of Epididymal Contractions

Hib, J.; Caldeyro-Barcia, R.

doi:10.1007/978-1-4684-2892-6_8

Cited by 13 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Similar observations have been reported with acetylcholine in vitro (Hib & Caldeyro-Barcia, 1974) and in vivo (Hib, 1976). These results are consistent with the findings that in addition to the dense adrenergic innervation there is also a cholinergic input to the vas deferens and the ductus epididymidis (Baumgarten et ai, 1971).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…In contrast to the in-vivo results of Hib (1976), the two beta-receptor blockers used did not abolish the stimulatory action of the beta-adrenergic stimulant. Hib (1976) (Hib & Caldeyro-Barcia, 1974). One explanation why a beta-blocker did not abolish the effects of a beta-adrenergic agent in this in-vitro study, although it did so in vivo (Hib, 1976), could be that the possible beta-adrenergic receptors are not accessible to an agonist or an antagonist.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…The influence of various drugs on the spontaneous contractions of the male accessory genital organs has been investigated in vitro (Hib & Caldeyro-Barcia, 1974;Hib, 1975; da Silva e Souza, Gimeno & Gimeno, 1975) and in vivo (Melin, 1970;Knight, 1974;Hib, 1976) but the area for the recordings has either been limited or not specified.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of adrenergic and cholinergic drugs on electrical and mechanical activities of the rat cauda epididymidis in vitro

La¹,

Talo²

1981

Reproduction

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Summary. Electrical and mechanical activities of the rat epididymis (at 29 \ m=+-\1\m=.\1cm from the junction of the vas deferens) were recorded in vitro. The frequency of the spontaneous activity was 2\m=.\7\ m=+-\0\m=.\15/min.Adrenaline, phenylephrine, isoprenaline and carbachol increased the basal tension, frequency and amplitude of the contractions. Phentolamine, an alpha-adrenergic blocking agent, abolished the stimulatory effects of adrenaline and isoprenaline, but not those of carbachol.Propranolol and metoprolol, beta-adrenergic blocking agents, did not inhibit the stimulatory effects of isoprenaline. Atropine abolished the response to carbachol. The results suggest that alpha-adrenergic receptors but not beta-receptors are present in the rat epididymis.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

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Effects of adrenergic and cholinergic drugs on electrical and mechanical activities of the rat cauda epididymidis in vitro

La¹,

Talo²

1981

Reproduction

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“…Peptide-induced contractions were obtained in muscles that were both pretreated with guanethidine and maintained in phentolamine-containing Krebs (11), albeit in some cases by an indirect action (12), while there are reports that oxytocin may activate smooth muscle of the male reproductive system (13). The literature on the effects of neurohypophysial peptides on the anococcygeus muscles of species other than the mouse is confusing.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neuropeptide-induced contraction and relaxation of the mouse anococcygeus muscle.

Gibson¹,

Bern²,

Ginsburg³

et al. 1984

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Isometric tension responses to neuropeptides were recorded from anococcygeus muscles isolated from male mice. This smooth muscle tissue is innervated by inhibitory nonadrenergic, noncholinergic nerves that resemble, ultrastructurally, the peptidergic neurons of the gastrointestinal tract; the physiological function of the anococcygeus is not known. Slow sustained contractions were produced by oxytocin (0.2-20 nM), , and [Arg]-vasotocin (0.4-100 nM); the mouse anococcygeus is, therefore, one of the few examples of nonvascular smooth muscle from male mammals to respond to low concentrations of oxytocin and related peptides. Substance P (0.5-8 ,AM) caused distinctive, biphasic increases in muscle tone of some, but not all, preparations. Other neuropeptides producing contractions were neurotensin (2-100 ,uM) and thyrotropin-releasing hormone (2-100 ,AM); the responses were of similar time course and displayed selective cross-desensitization, suggesting that these two peptides act through a common distinct mechanism. Tetradecapeptide somatostatin (10-80 pM) and its analog urotensin 11 (0.1-5 ,uM), a dodecapeptide from the urophysis of the teleost fish Gilichthys mirabilis, produced similar slowly developing relaxations of carbachol-induced tone. Piscine urotensin II, of which there are no reported effects on nonvascular mammalian systems, was 20-50 times more potent than somatostatin, a well-established mammalian hormone. Of the peptides studied, only vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (0.05-1 ,uM) caused rapid powerful relaxations in low concentrations; this is consistent with its proposed involvement in nonadrenergic, noncholinergic neurotransmission in the mouse anococcygeus.The anococcygeus muscles are two thin sheets of smooth muscle that arise, separately, from tendonous origins on the posterior sacral vertebrae and run caudad around both sides of the rectum to unite on its ventral aspect; a physiological function of the tissue has yet to be elucidated (1). The muscles of all species studied to date (rat, cat, rabbit, dog, mouse, and ox) are innervated by motor sympathetic fibers, of which the transmitter is norepinephrine, and by inhibitory nonadrenergic, noncholinergic (NANC) fibers, of which the transmitter is unidentified (1-6). Ultrastructurally, the NANC nerves of the anococcygeus resemble the p-type fibers of the gastrointestinal tract, suggesting that the transmitter may be a peptide (7). It has been proposed recently that vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) might be involved in NANC transmission in the mouse anococcygeus (8). However, NANC relaxations of the mouse anococcygeus in response to field stimulation are complex, and it is possible that there is more than one NANC transmitter in this tissue (9). Consequently, we have investigated the effects of a wide range of neuropeptides on tone of the mouse anococcygeus in vitro. The anococcygeus muscle is unusually sensitive to substances that act by releasing norepinephrine from sympathetic nerve endings (1). To prevent such effects, each pre...

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“…Functional pharmacological studies have suggested the participation of α 1A -adrenoceptor in the contractile response of the cauda epididymidis of mouse (Hib and Caldeyro-Barcia 1974) and in the spontaneous contractions of the caput, corpus, and cauda epididymidis of rat (Da Silva et al 1975;Hib 1976;Chaturapanich et al 2002). Thus, the immunolocalization of α 1A -adrenoceptors in smooth muscle cells from human and adult rat caput and cauda epididymidis confirms the participation of this adrenoceptor subtype in the smooth muscle contractile events induced by the endogenous ligands.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Immunolocalization of α1A-adrenoceptors in rat and human epididymis

Queiróz

Porto

Grossman³

et al. 2008

Cell Tissue Res

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Immunohistochemistry was conducted to analyze the cellular localization of alpha(1A)-adrenoceptors along rat and human epididymis. ADR-A, a polyclonal antibody that recognizes the specific C-terminal region of alpha(1A)-adrenoceptors, immunostained this adrenoceptor subtype in smooth muscle cells surrounding the epididymal tubules and interstitial blood vessels and in subpopulations of epithelial cells from adult rat and human caput and cauda epididymidis. The same cell types from rat epididymidis were immunostained by ADR-1, a polyclonal antibody that recognizes a common region of the three alpha(1)-adrenoceptor subtypes, alpha(1A), alpha(1B), and alpha(1D). Immunostaining with both antibodies was also conducted in adult rat and human vas deferens and seminal vesicle used as positive controls because of the abundance of alpha(1A)-adrenoceptors in these tissues. ADR-A- and ADR-1-positive immunostaining was differentially distributed depending on the antibody, method of tissue fixation (Bouin-fixed and fresh frozen tissues), species (rat and human), tissue (caput and cauda epididymidis), and age (immature and adult rats) analyzed. This is the first report immunolocalizing alpha(1A)-adrenoceptor along rat and human epididymis. The presence of this adrenoceptor subtype in epididymal smooth muscle and epithelial cells indicates their contribution to smooth muscle contractile responses and a possible role in the absorptive and/or secretory activities of the epithelium lining the epididymal duct. Taken together, our results should contribute to a better understanding of the physiological role of alpha(1)-adrenoceptors in the epididymidis and the importance of the sympathetic nervous system for male (in)fertility.

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Neurohormonal Control of Epididymal Contractions

Cited by 13 publications

References 9 publications

Effects of adrenergic and cholinergic drugs on electrical and mechanical activities of the rat cauda epididymidis in vitro

Effects of adrenergic and cholinergic drugs on electrical and mechanical activities of the rat cauda epididymidis in vitro

Neuropeptide-induced contraction and relaxation of the mouse anococcygeus muscle.

Immunolocalization of α1A-adrenoceptors in rat and human epididymis

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