The spontaneous contractile force of muscle strips isolated from rabbit urinary bladder dome, base and urethra was dose-dependently inhibited by isoproterenol, an adenylate cyclase activator through Β-adrenoceptors and also by sodium nitroprusside, a guanylate cyclase activator. The relaxation response by isoproterenol was biggest in urinary bladder dome. Percent relaxation to 10––4M isoproterenol was 73.6% in bladder dome, 56.1% in bladder base, and 44.1% in urethra. The relaxation response by nitroprusside was biggest in urethra. Percent relaxation to 10––4M sodium nitroprusside was 34.8% in bladder dome, 51.2% in bladder base, and 63.2% in urethra. Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) accumulation by isoproterenol was greatest in dome. cAMP levels increased by 150% in bladder dome, by 74% in bladder base and by 80% in urethra after 1 min over basal levels to become stable for 5 min. Cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) accumulation by sodium nitroprusside was greatest in urethra. cGMP levels increased by 445% in urethra after 1 min over basal levels and by 320% in dome, by 380% in base and by 1,100% in urethra after 5 min over basal levels. Dibutyryl cAMP relaxed the dome, base and urethra. 8-bromo cGMP also relaxed them. These results suggest that the role of cGMP is mainly related to urethral relaxation, whereas the role of cAMP is mainly related to urinary bladder relaxation.
Previous studies from our laboratory demonstrated that 8 weeks after the induction of diabetes by the administration of streptozotocin (STZ) there was a downregulation of beta adrenergic and muscarinic cholinergic receptors in rat prostate, and that early insulin treatment (started 3 days after the onset of diabetes) prevented these alterations from occurring. In the present study, the effects of later insulin treatment (started 8 weeks after the onset of diabetes) on the reversibility of diabetes-induced alterations in beta adrenergic and muscarinic receptors in rat prostate were investigated. Three groups of rats were maintained for 16 weeks: 1) diabetics, 2) insulin-treated diabetics (subcutaneously injected with 5 to 8 U per day starting 8 weeks after the onset of diabetes) and 3) age matched controls. Binding studies with [3H]dihydroalprenolol (DHA) and [3H]quinuclidinyl benzilate (QNB) showed a significantly lower density of beta adrenergic and muscarinic cholinergic receptors in the diabetic rat prostate than in prostate from either controls or insulin-treated diabetic animals. Inhibition of [3H]DHA binding by isoproterenol, a beta adrenergic agonist, and binding of [3H]QNB by carbachol, a muscarinic agonist, indicated the presence of low and high affinity agonist binding sites for each receptor. The relative proportion of high affinity to total binding sites as well as the low and high affinity constants were similar in all groups. These data indicate that insulin treatment, begun 8 weeks after the onset of diabetes, can reverse the diabetes-induced downregulation of both beta adrenergic and muscarinic cholinergic receptors in STZ-diabetic rat prostates.
Regional and age specific differences are observed in the sodium nitroprusside induced relaxation responses in the urinary tract. To clarify these differences, guanylyl cyclase activity is assayed in particulate and soluble fractions from the ureter, bladder dome, and urethra of young (11-18 days), adult (90-100 days), and old adult (2-3 years) guinea pigs. The rank order of soluble guanylyl cyclase activities is urethra = ureter > bladder dome with the largest decreases with aging occurring in the bladder. Atrial natriuretic factor (10(7) M) increases particulate guanylyl cyclase activity in the three tissues at all ages tested, with the activity being highest in the ureter. ATP (0.5 mM) activates particulate guanylyl cyclase in the ureter, bladder and urethra of old adult guinea pigs, and enhances atrial natriuretic factor induced activation of particulate guanylyl cyclase in all tissues and at all ages tested. The higher levels of soluble guanylyl cyclase activity in the urethra and ureter compared to the bladder parallel sodium nitroprusside induced relaxation in these tissues.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.