Abstract

Introduction

Materials & Methods

Results

Discussion & Conclusion

References

Discussion
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INTRODUCTION: The physiology of micturition and continence is still obscure. The complexity of the organ system needs further detailed characterization of the physiological properties of single muscles involved. We here present an in-vitro model for the study of neurotransmitter effects on the calcium signalling in smooth muscle cells of the lower urinary tract (LUT). MATERIAL & METHODS: Explant cell cultures were established from different smooth muscles of the human and guinea pig urinary bladder and prostate. Subconfluent cultures were thereafter used to study the effects of charbachol, norepinephrine, dopamine, histamine, ATP, and of appropriate transmitter receptor blockers. We measured intracellular calcium transients using fura-2 with a calcium imaging system. RESULTS: Cultured cells showed a specific spectrum of neurotransmitter sensitivity according to the region of the LUT they had been taken from. In brief: cells from bladder dome of man and guinea pig showed calcium transients when stimulated with carbachol. Only few of those cells responded to norepinephrine or dopamine. In contrast, dopamine stimulated cells cultured from bladder neck of man or guinea pig or from human prostate, while those cells rarely showed calcium transients when stimulated with carbachol. CONCLUSIONS: Explant cell cultures of smooth muscle cells of the lower urinary tract can be used to study signal transduction on single cell level. Cells taken from different muscles exhibit different physiological properties, which might reflect in situ differential expression of neurotransmitter receptors.

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Poster Number PAneuhaus0582
Keywords: smooth muscle, cell culture, pharmacology, neurotransmitters, calcium imaging