Expression and functional role of Rho‐kinase in rat urinary bladder smooth muscle

• Alexandra Wibberley

• Zunxuan Chen

• Erding Hu

• J Paul Hieble

• Timothy D Westfall

Abstract

<jats:list list-type="explicit-label"> The involvement of Rho‐kinase (ROCK) in the contractile mechanisms mediating smooth muscle contraction of the rat urinary bladder was investigated using expression studies and the ROCK inhibitor Y‐27632. Both isoforms of ROCK (ROCK I and ROCK II) were detected in high levels in rat urinary bladder. Y‐27632 (10 μ M ) significantly attenuated contractions of rat urinary bladder strips evoked by the G‐protein coupled receptor agonists carbachol (58.1±10.5% at 0.3 μ M ) and neurokinin A (68.6±12.7% at 1 μ M ) without affecting contractions to potassium chloride (10–100 m M ). In addition, basal tone was reduced by 47.8±2.0% by 10 μ M Y‐27632 in the absence of stimulation. Contractions of urinary bladder strips evoked by the P2X receptor agonist α,β‐methylene ATP (α,β‐mATP; 10 μ M ) were also attenuated by Y‐27632 (30.0±7.2% at 10 μ M ). Y‐27632 (10 μ M ) significantly attenuated contractions evoked by electrical field stimulation (2–16 Hz). The effect of Y‐27632 on the tonic portion of the neurogenic response (4–16 Hz) was not significantly different from the effect of atropine (1 μ M ) alone. While the mechanism underlying the ability of Y‐27632 to inhibit α,β‐mATP‐evoked contractions remains undetermined, the results of the present study clearly demonstrate a role for ROCK in the regulation of rat urinary bladder smooth muscle contraction and tone. British Journal of Pharmacology (2003) 138 , 757–766. doi:<jats:ext-link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="doi" xlink:href="10.1038/sj.bjp.0705109">10.1038/sj.bjp.0705109

Journal

• British Journal of Pharmacology

  British Journal of Pharmacology 138 (5), 757-766, 2003-03

  Wiley

Keywords

• Pharmacology

Details

• CRID: 1360574096458374528
• NII Article ID: 30022966101
• DOI: 10.1038/sj.bjp.0705109
• ISSN: 14765381
• ISSN: 00071188
• Web Site: https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1038%2Fsj.bjp.0705109
• Web Site: https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1038/sj.bjp.0705109
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