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Characterization of mouse lumbar splanchnic and pelvic nerve urinary bladder mechanosensory afferents
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Characterization of mouse lumbar splanchnic and pelvic nerve urinary bladder mechanosensory afferents

Linjing Xu and G F Gebhart
Journal of neurophysiology, Vol.99(1), pp.244-253
01/01/2008
DOI: 10.1152/jn.01049.2007
PMCID: PMC2659401
PMID: 18003875
url
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/2659401View
Open Access

Abstract

Sensory information from the urinary bladder is conveyed via lumbar splanchnic (LSN) and sacral pelvic (PN) nerves to the spinal cord. In the present report we compared the mechanosensitive properties of single afferent fibers in these two pathways using an in vitro mouse bladder preparation. Mechanosensitive primary afferents were recorded from the LSN or PN and distinguished based on their response to receptive field stimulation with different mechanical stimuli: probing (160 mg to 2 g), stretch (1-25 g), and stroking of the urothelium (10-1,000 mg). Four different classes of afferent were recorded from the LSN and PN: serosal, muscular, muscular/urothelial, and urothelial. The LSN contained principally serosal and muscular afferents (97% of the total sample), whereas all four afferent classes of afferent were present in the PN (63% of which were muscular afferents). In addition, the respective proportions and receptive field distributions differed between the two pathways. Both low- and high-threshold stretch-sensitive muscular afferents were present in both pathways, and muscular afferents in the PN were shown to sensitize after exposure to an inflammatory soup cocktail. The LSN and PN pathways contain different populations of mechanosensitive afferents capable of detecting a range of mechanical stimuli and individually tuned to detect the type, magnitude, and duration of the stimulus. This knowledge broadens our understanding of the potential roles these two pathways play in conveying mechanical information from the bladder to the spinal cord.
 Action Potentials - drug effects Action Potentials - physiology Animals Axons - drug effects Axons - physiology Cystitis, Interstitial - physiopathology Hypogastric Plexus - anatomy & histology Hypogastric Plexus - drug effects Hypogastric Plexus - physiology Inflammation Mediators - pharmacology Lumbar Vertebrae Male Mechanoreceptors - drug effects Mechanoreceptors - physiology Mice Mice, Inbred C57BL Muscle, Smooth - innervation Muscle, Smooth - physiology Neurons, Afferent - drug effects Neurons, Afferent - physiology Pain - etiology Pain - physiopathology Physical Stimulation Pressure Signal Transduction - drug effects Signal Transduction - physiology Spinal Cord - anatomy & histology Spinal Cord - physiology Splanchnic Nerves - anatomy & histology Splanchnic Nerves - drug effects Splanchnic Nerves - physiology Stress, Mechanical Urinary Bladder - innervation Urinary Bladder - physiology Urination - drug effects Urination - physiology Urothelium - innervation Urothelium - physiology Visceral Afferents - anatomy & histology Visceral Afferents - drug effects Visceral Afferents - physiology

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