scholarly journals Transient contractions of urinary bladder smooth muscle are drivers of afferent nerve activity during filling

2016 ◽  
Vol 147 (4) ◽  
pp. 323-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Heppner ◽  
Nathan R. Tykocki ◽  
David Hill-Eubanks ◽  
Mark T. Nelson

Activation of afferent nerves during urinary bladder (UB) filling conveys the sensation of UB fullness to the central nervous system (CNS). Although this sensory outflow is presumed to reflect graded increases in pressure associated with filling, UBs also exhibit nonvoiding, transient contractions (TCs) that cause small, rapid increases in intravesical pressure. Here, using an ex vivo mouse bladder preparation, we explored the relative contributions of filling pressure and TC-induced pressure transients to sensory nerve stimulation. Continuous UB filling caused an increase in afferent nerve activity composed of a graded increase in baseline activity and activity associated with increases in intravesical pressure produced by TCs. For each ∼4-mmHg pressure increase, filling pressure increased baseline afferent activity by ∼60 action potentials per second. In contrast, a similar pressure elevation induced by a TC evoked an ∼10-fold greater increase in afferent activity. Filling pressure did not affect TC frequency but did increase the TC rate of rise, reflecting a change in the length-tension relationship of detrusor smooth muscle. The frequency of afferent bursts depended on the TC rate of rise and peaked before maximum pressure. Inhibition of small- and large-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (SK and BK) channels increased TC amplitude and afferent nerve activity. After inhibiting detrusor muscle contractility, simulating the waveform of a TC by gently compressing the bladder evoked similar increases in afferent activity. Notably, afferent activity elicited by simulated TCs was augmented by SK channel inhibition. Our results show that afferent nerve activity evoked by TCs represents the majority of afferent outflow conveyed to the CNS during UB filling and suggest that the maximum TC rate of rise corresponds to an optimal length-tension relationship for efficient UB contraction. Furthermore, our findings implicate SK channels in controlling the gain of sensory outflow independent of UB contractility.

2007 ◽  
Vol 292 (1) ◽  
pp. R616-R624 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias E. Werner ◽  
Anna-Maria Knorn ◽  
Andrea L. Meredith ◽  
Richard W. Aldrich ◽  
Mark T. Nelson

In the urinary bladder, contractions of the detrusor muscle and urine voiding are induced by the neurotransmitters ACh and ATP, released from parasympathetic nerves. Activation of K+ channels, in particular the large-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (BK) channels, opposes increases in excitability and contractility of urinary bladder smooth muscle (UBSM). We have shown that deleting the gene mSlo1 in mice ( Slo−/−), encoding the BK channel, leads to enhanced nerve-mediated and neurotransmitter-dependent contractility of UBSM ( 38 ). Here, we examine the location of the BK channel in urinary bladder strips from mouse. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that the channel is expressed in UBSM but not in nerves that innervate the smooth muscle. The relationship between electrical field stimulation and force generation of the cholinergic and purinergic pathways was examined by applying blockers of the respective receptors in UBSM strips from wild-type and from Slo−/− (knockout) mice. In wild-type strips, the stimulation frequency required to obtain a half-maximal force was significantly lower for the purinergic (7.2 ± 0.3 Hz) than the cholinergic pathway (19.1 ± 1.5 Hz), whereas the maximum force was similar. Blocking BK channels with iberiotoxin or ablation of the Slo gene increased cholinergic- and purinergic-mediated force at low frequencies, i.e., significantly decreased the frequency for a half-maximal force. Our results indicate that the BK channel has a very significant role in reducing both cholinergic- and purinergic-induced contractility and suggest that alterations in BK channel expression or function could contribute to pathologies such as overactive detrusor.


2015 ◽  
Vol 309 (6) ◽  
pp. R629-R638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald C. Mingin ◽  
Thomas J. Heppner ◽  
Nathan R. Tykocki ◽  
Cuixia Shi Erickson ◽  
Margaret A. Vizzard ◽  
...  

Social stress has been implicated as a cause of urinary bladder hypertrophy and dysfunction in humans. Using a murine model of social stress, we and others have shown that social stress leads to bladder overactivity. Here, we show that social stress leads to bladder overactivity, increased bladder compliance, and increased afferent nerve activity. In the social stress paradigm, 6-wk-old male C57BL/6 mice were exposed for a total of 2 wk, via barrier cage, to a C57BL/6 retired breeder aggressor mouse. We performed conscious cystometry with and without intravesical infusion of the TRPV1 inhibitor capsazepine, and measured pressure-volume relationships and afferent nerve activity during bladder filling using an ex vivo bladder model. Stress leads to a decrease in intermicturition interval and void volume in vivo, which was restored by capsazepine. Ex vivo studies demonstrated that at low pressures, bladder compliance and afferent activity were elevated in stressed bladders compared with unstressed bladders. Capsazepine did not significantly change afferent activity in unstressed mice, but significantly decreased afferent activity at all pressures in stressed bladders. Immunohistochemistry revealed that TRPV1 colocalizes with CGRP to stain nerve fibers in unstressed bladders. Colocalization significantly increased along the same nerve fibers in the stressed bladders. Our results support the concept that social stress induces TRPV1-dependent afferent nerve activity, ultimately leading to the development of overactive bladder symptoms.


1999 ◽  
Vol 276 (6) ◽  
pp. R1819-R1824
Author(s):  
Els van Asselt ◽  
Joost le Feber ◽  
Ron van Mastrigt

In this study, the mechanism involved in the initiation of voiding was investigated. Bladder pressure and bladder and urethral nerve activity were recorded in the anesthetized rat. Bladder nerve activity was resolved into afferent and efferent activity by means of a theoretical model. The beginning of an active bladder contraction was defined as the onset of bladder efferent firing at a certain time ( t 0). From t 0 onward, bladder efferent activity increased linearly during δ t seconds (rise time) to a maximum. The pressure at t 0 was 1.0 ± 0.4 kPa, the afferent nerve activity at t 0 was 2.0 ± 0.6 μV (53 ± 15% of maximum total nerve activity), and δ t was 11 ± 13 s. Between contractions the afferent activity at t 0 was never exceeded. Urethral afferent nerve activity started at bladder pressures of 2.1 ± 1.1 kPa. Therefore, we concluded that urethral afferent nerve activity does not play a role in the initiation of bladder contractions; voiding contractions presumably are initiated by bladder afferent nerve activity exceeding a certain threshold.


2001 ◽  
Vol 534 (2) ◽  
pp. 313-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshiaki Ohi ◽  
Hisao Yamamura ◽  
Norihiro Nagano ◽  
Susumu Ohya ◽  
Katsuhiko Muraki ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 202-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith M. Lionarons ◽  
Govert Hoogland ◽  
Ruben G. F. Hendriksen ◽  
Catharina G. Faber ◽  
Danique M. J. Hellebrekers ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (22) ◽  
pp. 8608
Author(s):  
Victoria Moreno-Manzano ◽  
Daria Zaytseva-Zotova ◽  
Eric López-Mocholí ◽  
Álvaro Briz-Redón ◽  
Berit Løkensgard Strand ◽  
...  

Biologic scaffolds composed of extracellular matrix components have been proposed to repair and reconstruct a variety of tissues in clinical and pre-clinical studies. Injectable gels can fill and conform any three-dimensional shape and can be delivered to sites of interest by minimally invasive techniques. In this study, a biological gel was produced from a decellularized porcine urinary bladder by enzymatic digestion with pepsin. The enzymatic digestion was confirmed by visual inspection after dissolution in phosphate-buffered saline solution and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The rheological and biological properties of the gel were characterized and compared to those of the MatrigelTM chosen as a reference material. The storage modulus G’ reached 19.4 ± 3.7 Pa for the 30 mg/mL digested decellularized bladder gels after ca. 3 h at 37 °C. The results show that the gel formed of the porcine urinary bladder favored the spontaneous differentiation of human and rabbit adipose-derived stem cells in vitro into smooth muscle cells to the detriment of cell proliferation. The results support the potential of the developed injectable gel for tissue engineering applications to reconstruct for instance the detrusor muscle part of the human urinary bladder.


2000 ◽  
Vol 279 (1) ◽  
pp. R60-R68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald M. Herrera ◽  
Thomas J. Heppner ◽  
Mark T. Nelson

This study examines the roles of voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels (VDCC), ryanodine receptors (RyRs), large-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (BK) channels, and small-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (SK) channels in the regulation of phasic contractions of guinea pig urinary bladder smooth muscle (UBSM). Nisoldipine (100 nM), a dihydropyridine inhibitor of VDCC, abolished spontaneous UBSM contractions. Ryanodine (10 μM) increased contraction frequency and thereby integrated force and, in the presence of the SK blocker apamin, had a greater effect on integrated force than ryanodine alone. Blocking BK (iberiotoxin, 100 nM) or SK (apamin, 100 nM) channels increased contraction amplitude and duration but decreased frequency. The contractile response to iberiotoxin was more pronounced than to apamin. The increases in contraction amplitude and duration to apamin were substantially augmented with ryanodine pretreatment. These results indicate that BK and SK channels have prominent roles as negative feedback elements to limit UBSM contraction amplitude and duration. RyRs also appear to play a significant role as a negative feedback regulator of contraction frequency and duration, and this role is influenced by the activity of SK channels.


2008 ◽  
Vol 295 (5) ◽  
pp. C1344-C1353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiril L. Hristov ◽  
Xiangli Cui ◽  
Sean M. Brown ◽  
Lei Liu ◽  
Whitney F. Kellett ◽  
...  

We investigated the role of large-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (BK) channels in β3-adrenoceptor (β3-AR)-induced relaxation in rat urinary bladder smooth muscle (UBSM). BRL 37344, a specific β3-AR agonist, inhibits spontaneous contractions of isolated UBSM strips. SR59230A, a specific β3-AR antagonist, and H89, a PKA inhibitor, reduced the inhibitory effect of BRL 37344. Iberiotoxin, a specific BK channel inhibitor, shifts the BRL 37344 concentration response curves for contraction amplitude, net muscle force, and tone to the right. Freshly dispersed UBSM cells and the perforated mode of the patch-clamp technique were used to determine further the role of β3-AR stimulation by BRL 37344 on BK channel activity. BRL 37344 increased spontaneous, transient, outward BK current (STOC) frequency by 46.0 ± 20.1%. In whole cell mode at a holding potential of Vh = 0 mV, the single BK channel amplitude was 5.17 ± 0.28 pA, whereas in the presence of BRL 37344, it was 5.55 ± 0.41 pA. The BK channel open probability was also unchanged. In the presence of ryanodine and nifedipine, the current-voltage relationship in response to depolarization steps in the presence and absence of BRL 37344 was identical. In current-clamp mode, BRL 37344 caused membrane potential hyperpolarization from −26.1 ± 2.1 mV (control) to −29.0 ± 2.2 mV. The BRL 37344-induced hyperpolarization was eliminated by application of iberiotoxin, tetraethylammonium or ryanodine. The data indicate that stimulation of β3-AR relaxes rat UBSM by increasing the BK channel STOC frequency, which causes membrane hyperpolarization and thus relaxation.


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