PURPOSE:Type 3 muscarinic receptors, which are present in the bladder wall, are important for bladder function. However, their role in the context of the urothelium is not well defined. Understanding the role of type 3 muscarinic receptors has been limited by the lack of specific type 3 muscarinic receptor antibodies. Thus, we identified a specific type 3 muscarinic receptor antibody and investigated the site of type 3 muscarinic receptors in sham operated and obstructed guinea pig bladders.MATERIALS AND METHODS:The specificity of 4 commercially available type 3 muscarinic receptor antibodies was determined. Immunohistochemistry was then done in bladder tissue from sham operated and obstructed guinea pig bladders.RESULTS:One of the 4 antibodies examined had the needed specificity in terms of blocking peptide and Western blot characterization. Using this antibody type 3 muscarinic receptor immunoreactivity was associated with muscle cells, nerves and interstitial cells. Four types of interstitial cells were identified, including suburothelial, lamina propria, surface muscle and intramuscular interstitial cells. In the obstructed model the bladder wall was hypertrophied and there was nerve fiber loss. The number of lamina propria, surface muscle and intramuscular interstitial cells was increased but not the number of suburothelial interstitial cells. Also, surface muscle interstitial cells appeared to form clusters or nodes with type 3 muscarinic receptor immunoreactivity.CONCLUSIONS:Nerve loss and the up-regulation of interstitial cells with type 3 muscarinic receptor immunoreactivity may underlie major functional changes in the pathological bladder. This indicates that type 3 muscarinic receptor specific anticholinergic drugs may affect not only the detrusor muscle, as previously thought, but also interstitial cells and nerve fibers.

OBJECTIVE:To identify the cells expressing the M(3) muscarinic receptor subtype in the lamina propria of the bladder.MATERIALS AND METHODS:The bladders from five normal guinea pigs were isolated and fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde. Tissues sections (10 microm) were then cut and stained with antibodies to the type 3 muscarinic receptor (M(3)), the interstitial cell marker vimentin and the nonspecific nerve marker PGP 9.5. The specificity of the antibody to the M(3) receptor was established using the complementary blocking peptide and Western blot analysis of human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells transfected to express the M(3) receptor protein. RESULTS The M(3) antibody pre-incubated with its blocking peptide showed no immunohistochemical staining. Investigating this antibody using HEK cells transfected to express the M(3) receptor protein and control HEK cells showed a single band in the transfected cells and no band in the control cells. M(3) receptor immunoreactivity (M(3)-IR) was detected primarily on a dense network of vimentin-positive (vim(+)) cells lying immediately below the urothelium, i.e. the suburothelial interstitial cells (Su-ICs). The M(3)-IR was punctate and appeared to be located on the cell surface. The diffuse network of cells in the remaining regions of the lamina propria showed no M(3)-IR. Few nerve fibres were associated with the M(3)-IR Su-ICs. The M(3)-IR Su-ICs were most numerous and prominent in the lateral wall. The number of M(3)-IR/vim(+) cells diminished towards the bladder base and were absent in the bladder urethral junction. In the base and urethral junction there were vim(+) cells that were not M(3)-IR. A population of umbrella cells in the lateral wall also showed weak punctate M(3)-IR. CONCLUSIONS Using a well-characterized M(3) antibody, these results show for the first time that the M(3) muscarinic receptor in the lamina propria is located specifically on the Su-ICs. The physiological role of these cells is unknown and consequently the significance of what appears to be a cholinergic signalling system is unclear. Previously published data showed that these cells respond to nitric oxide and atrial natriuretic peptide with an increase in cGMP and possibly prostaglandin. All of these observations, taken together, suggest that the Su-ICs receive multiple inputs and that they must be part of a complex signalling system in this region of the bladder wall.

OBJECTIVE:To examine the expression of ubiquitin hydrolase (UH), an enzyme which is part of the ubiquitin-proteasome system involved in the regulation of cell growth and differentiation, to gain an insight into the cell types and processes underlying the tissue remodelling that occur after bladder neck damage.MATERIALS AND METHODS:Three groups of male guinea pigs were used, comprising controls (not operated, four), sham (five) and obstructed (six). The bladder outlet was obstructed by implanting a silver ring around the urethra, which was left in situ for 2-4 weeks. Sham-operated guinea pigs had the same operative procedure but no ring was implanted. The bladders were removed and incubated in Krebs' solution at 36 degrees C, gassed with 95% O2 and 5% CO2, Tissues were then fixed in 4% depolymerized paraformaldehyde and processed for immunohistochemistry. We used antibodies raised against UH, cyclooxygenase type I and vimentin. Specific antibody binding was visualized using the appropriate secondary antibodies.RESULTS:Staining with an antibody to UH showed the presence of both sensory and motor nerves in control, sham and obstructed bladders. In the control bladders this was the predominant staining pattern. In the sham and obstructed bladders UH staining revealed additional positive cell types; cells associated with the outermost layers of the urothelium (the umbrella cells), in the lamina propria (the lamina propria interstitial cells (lp-ICs), on the surface of the muscle bundles (surface muscle, sm-ICs) and on the serosal surface (muscle coat, mc-ICs). All ICs stained with vimentin. The ICs within the muscle bundles (intramuscular, im-ICs) did not stain with UH. The number and density of the UH-positive cells was greater in the obstructed than in the sham bladders, suggesting a change in relation to the severity of damage to the bladder neck.CONCLUSION:The expression of UH implies the re-targeting of proteins marked for degradation in the proteasome. Increased expression of UH in the lp-ICs and sm-ICs shows that these cells are active in the early and late stages of the tissue remodelling resulting from obstruction. These results show a further subset of ICs that might be involved in the increased deposition of extracellular material and tissue remodelling.

OBJECTIVETo identify and characterize possible structural specialisations in the wall of the lower urinary tract (LUT) in the region of the bladder urethral junction (BUJ), with the specific objective of identifying regional variations in sensory nerve fibres and interstitial cells (ICs).MATERIALS AND METHODSThe bladder base and urethra was removed from five male guinea pigs killed by cervical dislocation. Tissue pieces were incubated in Krebs’ solution at 36 °C, gassed with 95% O2 and 5% CO2, fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde and processed for immunohistochemistry. The nonspecific marker vimentin and the general neuronal marker protein gene product (PGP) 9.5 were used to identify ICs and nerve fibres, respectively. Specific antibody binding was visualized using the appropriate secondary antibodies.RESULTSThe wall of the LUT in the region immediately between the bladder base and the urethra, the BUJ, differed in its cellular composition relative to the adjacent areas. PGP‐positive (PGP+) nerve fibres, presumptive afferent fibres, lay within the urothelium running between the epithelial cells. There were two general nerve patterns: branching fibres with no varicosities, and complex fibres with varicosities. Fibre collaterals with varicosities exited the urothelium and occupied the space under the urothelium adjacent to the layer of suburothelial ICs. The latter, lamina propria and around the muscle bundles were identified using vimentin (vim+). In the base a few vim+ cells were also PGP+. In the region of the BUJ there was a decrease in the amount of smooth muscle. In this region, below the lamina propria, there was an area densely populated with vim+/PGP+ ICs. Nerve fibres ran between the cells in this region.CONCLUSIONThese structural specialisations within the urothelium and deeper layers of the BUJ suggest that they might be associated with specific functions. The localized highly branched network of the putative afferent nerves suggests the presence of a local axonal reflexes involving possible cross‐talk between the urothelium and suburothelial layer. The function of the specialized region of ICs is not known and must await further information on the functional properties of this novel cell type. These observations show further the cellular heterogeneity of the cells in the LUT and the complexity of the structures. One of the major current challenges in functional urology is to understand the relationships between these novel structures and overall bladder and urethral function.

Hypothesis / aims of study There is growing interest in the afferent information that is being sent from the bladder to the central nervous system. As an integral part of this approach it is essential to know where the afferent fibres originate and identify the different types of sensory fibre. It has been shown that there are different types of sensory fibre in the lateral wall of the guinea pig bladder [1]. In this study we report different patterns of sensory innervation associate with the urothelium of the bladder base and bladder neck.