Change in acetylcholine release from rat bladder with partial outlet obstruction

OBJECTIVE

To investigate changes in acetylcholine release from the bladder of rats with partial bladder outlet obstruction (BOO), as partial BOO leads to hypertrophy and an alteration in the contractions of the detrusor smooth muscle, and acetylcholine plays an important role in urinary bladder contractions but there is little available information on acetylcholine release after BOO.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Partial BOO was induced in adult female rats by ligating the proximal urethra over a 1 mm angiocatheter; sham‐operated rats served as controls. The rats were killed 2 weeks, 3 and 6 months after induction of BOO. We investigated the contractions induced by carbachol, KCl (80 mm ), ATP and electrical‐field stimulation (EFS, 2.5–40 Hz), and collected the dialysate obtained from a microdialysis probe inserted into the muscle strips during EFS, and measured the amount of acetylcholine in the dialysate fraction by high‐performance liquid chromatography with electro‐chemical detection. S‐100 immunohistochemical staining of the bladder preparations was used for histological examination in BOO and control rats.

RESULTS

The bladder weight gradually increased after BOO. There were no significant changes in KCl‐induced contractions throughout the experimental period in either group. There were no significant changes in carbachol‐induced contractions until 3 months after BOO but there was a significant reduction at 6 months. ATP‐induced contractions were significantly increased 2 weeks and 3 months after BOO. EFS‐induced contractions were gradually reduced after BOO. Acetylcholine release from the bladder strips was not significantly different between the groups until 2 weeks after BOO. However, acetylcholine release in BOO rats was significantly decreased 3–6 months after BOO, being significantly lower than that of the control rats. In the histological study, the number of nerve fibres in the BOO rats was significantly lower than in the control rats.

CONCLUSIONS

We suggest that the prolonged BOO caused a decrease in EFS‐induced acetylcholine release and the number of nerves in the rat urinary bladder, which might contribute to bladder underactivity in BOO.