Fiber type-specific afferent nerve activity induced by transient contractions of rat bladder smooth muscle in pathological states

PLoS One. 2017 Dec 21;12(12):e0189941. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0189941. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

Bladder smooth muscle shows spontaneous phasic contractions, which undergo a variety of abnormal changes depending on pathological conditions. How abnormal contractions affect the activity of bladder afferent nerves remains to be fully tested. In this study, we examined the relationship between transient increases in bladder pressure, representing transient contraction of bladder smooth muscle, and spiking patterns of bladder afferent fibers of the L6 dorsal root, in rat pathological models. All recordings were performed at a bladder pressure of approximately 10 cmH2O by maintaining the degree of bladder filling. In the cyclophosphamide-induced model, both Aδ and C fibers showed increased sensitivity to transient bladder pressure increases. In the prostaglandin E2-induced model, Aδ fibers, but not C fibers, specifically showed overexcitation that was time-locked with transient bladder pressure increases. These fiber type-specific changes in nerve spike patterns may underlie the symptoms of urinary bladder diseases.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Afferent Pathways / drug effects*
  • Animals
  • Cyclophosphamide / pharmacology
  • Female
  • Muscle Contraction / drug effects
  • Muscle, Smooth / drug effects*
  • Muscle, Smooth / pathology
  • Rats
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Urinary Bladder / drug effects*
  • Urinary Bladder / pathology

Substances

  • Cyclophosphamide

Grants and funding

This study was funded by Kyorin Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. The funder provided support in the form of salaries for NK, AT, KH and TK, but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section.