We evaluated the pharmacological characteristics of (R)-2-(2-aminothiazol-4-yl)-4Ј-{2-[(2-hydroxy-2-phenylethyl)amino]-ethyl} acetanilide (YM178). YM178 increased cyclic AMP accumulation in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells expressing human ␤ 3 -adrenoceptor (AR). The half-maximal effective concentration (EC 50 ) value was 22.4 nM. EC 50 values of YM178 for human ␤ 1 -and ␤ 2 -ARs were 10,000 nM or more, respectively. The ratio of intrinsic activities of YM178 versus maximal response induced by isoproterenol (nonselective ␤-AR agonist) was 0.8 for human ␤ 3 -ARs, 0.1 for human ␤ 1 -ARs, and 0.1 for human ␤ 2 -ARs. The relaxant effects of YM178 were evaluated in rats and humans bladder strips precontracted with carbachol (CCh) and compared with those of isoproterenol and 4-[3-[(1,1-dimethylethyl)amino]-2-hydroxypropoxy]-1,3-dihydro-2H-benzimidazol-2-one hydrochloride (CGP-12177A) (␤ 3 -AR agonist). EC 50 values of YM178 and isoproterenol in rat bladder strips precontracted with 10 Ϫ6 M CCh were 5.1 and 1.4 M, respectively, whereas those in human bladder strips precontracted with 10 Ϫ7 M CCh were 0.78 and 0.28 M, respectively. In in vivo study, YM178 at a dose of 3 mg/kg i.v. decreased the frequency of rhythmic bladder contraction induced by intravesical filling with saline without suppressing its amplitude in anesthetized rats. These findings suggest the suitability of YM178 as a therapeutic drug for the treatment of symptoms of overactive bladder such as urinary frequency, urgency, and urge incontinence.

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Urinary bladder smooth muscle is innervated by both sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves. Acetylcholine released from postganglionic parasympathetic nerve terminals activates postjunctional muscarinic receptors in urinary bladder, which modulate urinary bladder contraction during the voiding phase and control detrusor tone during the filling phase. Five muscarinic receptor subtypes (M 1 -M 5 ) have been identified by both molecular biological and pharmacological investigations.1) The urinary bladder smooth muscle contains a mixed population of muscarinic M 2 and M 3 receptors.2) Although muscarinic M 2 receptors are numerically predominant, muscarinic M 3 receptors are considered to predominate in the mediation of bladder contraction.3,4) An important functional role of the muscarinic M 3 receptor in mediating bladder contraction has also been suggested in experiments using mutant mice lacking the muscarinic M 3 receptor gene. 5)Overactive bladder is characterized by symptoms of urgency and urinary frequency with or without urge incontinence. It has a profoundly negative effect on the quality of life of those affected. Muscarinic receptor antagonists are the most widely used therapy for overactive bladder.6-8) Solifenacin succinate [YM905; (3R)-1-azabicyclo[2.2.2]oct-3-yl(1S)-1-phenyl-3,4-dihydroisoquinoline-2(1H)-carboxylate monosuccinate] is a new muscarinic receptor antagonist developed for the treatment of overactive bladder. Affinity constants (K i values) of this drug for human muscarinic M 1 , M 2 and M 3 receptors only have been reported, along with its antagonism of the contractile effect of carbachol in isolated guinea pig urinary bladder.9) The present study was therefore undertaken to investigate the affinity of solifenacin for all human muscarinic receptor subtypes (M 1 -M 5 ) and its functional muscarinic M 3 receptor antagonism in rats, and to compare the results with those for tolterodine, oxybutynin, darifenacin, propiverine and atropine. Additionally, we also investigated the effect of solifenacin on voiding function in anesthetized rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS MaterialsSolifenacin succinate (YM905, Vesicare ® ), tolterodine tartrate, darifenacin and propiverine hydrochloride were prepared by Astellas Pharma Inc. (Tokyo, Japan). Oxybutynin chloride, atropine sulfate and carbachol (carbamylcholine chloride) were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, MO, U.S.A.). Darifenacin was dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide and the others were dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide, Krebs-Henseleit solution or physiological saline.Animals Male Wistar rats and male Sprague-Dawley rats were purchased from Charles River Laboratories Japan (Kanagawa, Japan) and Japan SLC (Shizuoka, Japan), respectively. In in vitro studies, rats were sacrificed by exsanguination under ether anesthesia. All animal experiments were performed in compliance with the regulations of the Institutional Animal Ethical Committee of Astellas Pharma Inc.Radioligand Receptor Binding Assay Membranes of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO)-K1 cells expressi...

Tumor growth of colorectal cancers accompanies upregulation of cyclooxygenase-2, which catalyzes a conversion step from arachidonic acid to prostaglandin H 2 (PGH 2 ). Here, we compared the expression levels of thromboxane synthase (TXS), which catalyzes the conversion of PGH 2 to thromboxane A 2 (TXA 2 ), between human colorectal cancer tissue and its accompanying normal mucosa. It was found that TXS protein was consistently upregulated in the cancer tissues from different patients. TXS was also highly expressed in human colonic cancer cell lines. Depletion of TXS protein by the antisense oligonucleotide inhibited proliferation of the cancer cells. This inhibition was rescued by the direct addition of a stable analogue of TXA 2 . The present results suggest that overexpression of TXS and subsequent excess production of TXA 2 in the cancer cells may be involved in the tumor growth of human colorectum.

Urine storage is facilitated by somatic (pudendal nerve) and sympathetic [hypogastric nerve (HgN)] reflexes to the urethral rhabdosphincter (URS) and urethral smooth muscle, respectively, initiated by primary afferent fibers in the pelvic nerve (PelN). Inhibition of storage reflexes is required for normal voiding. This study characterizes a urine storage reflex inhibitory network that can be activated by PelN afferent fibers concurrently with the reflexes themselves. Electrical stimulation of PelN produced evoked potentials recorded by URS EMG electrodes (10-ms latency) or HgN electrodes (60-ms latency) in chloralose-anesthetized cats. When a second (i.e., paired) pulse of the same stimulus intensity was applied to the PelN 50-500 ms after the first, the reflexes evoked by the second stimulus were inhibited. The inhibition was maximal at paired-pulse intervals of 50-100 ms and remained after acute spinal transection at T10, confirming that the inhibitory center is located in the spinal cord. The 5-HT(1A) receptor agonist 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tertralin (8-OH-DPAT; 3-300 mug/kg iv) consistently reduced the paired-pulse inhibition from 20% to 60% of control in spinal-intact animals but had no effect in acute spinal animals (i.e., supraspinal site of action). N-{2-[4-(2-methoxyphenyl)-1-piperazinyl]ethyl}-N-2-pyridinylcyclohexanecarboxamide maleate (300 mug/kg iv) completely reversed 8-OH-DPAT's effects. The PelN-HgN reflex paired-pulse inhibition was not affected by 8-OH-DPAT. These results indicate the presence of a spinal, urine storage reflex, inhibitory center (SUSRIC) that is activated within 50 ms after activation of the reflexes themselves. SUSRIC is inhibited (disfacilitated) by supraspinal 5-HT(1A) receptors.