Alteration of bladder contractility was examined in the spontaneously hypertensive and hyperlipidemic rat (SHHR; age, 9 months; systolic blood pressure, Ͼ150 mm Hg; plasma cholesterol, Ͼ150 mg/dl). Carbachol (CCh) induced time-and dose-dependent contractions in Sprague-Dawley (age-matched control) rats and SHHR; however, maximal levels differed significantly (13.3 Ϯ 2.2 and 5.4 Ϯ 1.9 N/mm 2 following 10 M CCh treatment, respectively; n ϭ 5). This difference, which was maintained in calciumreplaced physiological salt solution (PSS), was suppressed by pretreatment with rho kinase inhibitor, 1 M Y27632 [(R)-(ϩ)-trans-N-(4-pyridyl)-4-(1-aminoethyl)-cyclohexanecarboxamide]; moreover, total activity of rho kinase was also reduced in SHHR bladder. Pretreatment of bladders under high-glucose (HG) conditions (22.2 mM glucose-contained PSS for 30 min) led to enhancement of CCh-induced contraction solely in control animals. Under HG conditions, both protein kinase C (PKC) activity and production of diacylglycerol (DG) derived from incorporated glucose declined in SHHR bladder; however, sustained elevation of plasma glucose level was not detected in SHHR. These results suggested that bladder contractility dysfunction in SHHR is attributable to alteration of rho kinase activity and the DG-PKC pathway. This dysfunction may occur prior to chronic hyperglycemia onset in progressive hypertension and hyperlipidemia.