HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 290/6/F1478    most recent 00395.2005v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (11) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Ustinova, E. E. Articles by Pezzone, M. A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Ustinova, E. E. Articles by Pezzone, M. A.

Colonic irritation in the rat sensitizes urinary bladder afferents to mechanical and chemical stimuli: an afferent origin of pelvic organ cross-sensitization

¹Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and ²Department of Surgery, Division of Urology, Duke University Medical Center and Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina

Submitted 4 October 2005 ; accepted in final form 29 December 2005

Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) disorders frequently overlap. We have demonstrated that acute and chronic colonic irritation can lead to neurogenic cystitis. We hypothesize that acute colonic irritation can sensitize urinary bladder afferents to mechanical and chemical stimuli. Single-unit afferent activity was recorded from fine filaments of the pelvic nerve in urethane-anesthetized Sprague-Dawley female rats before and 1 h after intracolonic administration of trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS). Only spontaneously active afferents with receptive fields in the bladder and conduction velocities <2.5 m/s (unmyelinated C-fibers) were studied. Mechanical sensitivity was tested by bladder distension (BD) during saline infusion, whereas chemical sensitivity was tested with intravesical capsaicin, bradykinin, or substance P. Colonic irritation increased the resting firing rate of bladder afferents twofold (1.0 ± 0.2 vs. 0.49 ± 0.2 impulses/s, P < 0.05). Moreover, at low-pressure BDs (10–20 mmHg), a greater percentage of afferents exhibited increased activity following TNBS (73 vs. 27%, P < 0.05). Although the magnitude of the afferent response to BD was unchanged at low pressures, the response was greatly enhanced at pressures 30 mmHg and above (2.36 ± 0.56 vs. 8.55 ± 0.73 impulses/s, P < 0.05). Responses to capsaicin, bradykinin, and substance P were also significantly enhanced following TNBS, and all responses were blocked by bladder denervation. In rats, colonic irritation sensitizes urinary bladder afferents to noxious mechanical and chemical stimuli. Interruption of the neural input to the bladder minimized this effect, suggesting a local afferent pathway from the colon. Thus, the overlap of CPP disorders may be a consequence of pelvic afferent cross-sensitization.

trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid; interstitial cystitis; irritable bowel syndrome; C-fiber; capsaicin

This article has been cited by other articles:

				H.-Y. Peng, P.-C. Huang, J.-M. Liao, K.-C. Tung, S.-D. Lee, C.-L. Cheng, J.-C. Shyu, C.-Y. Lai, G.-D. Chen, and T.-B. Lin Estrous cycle variation of TRPV1-mediated cross-organ sensitization between uterus and NMDA-dependent pelvic-urethra reflex activity Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, September 1, 2008; 295(3): E559 - E568. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Furuta, M. Kita, Y. Suzuki, S. Egawa, M. B. Chancellor, W. C. de Groat, and N. Yoshimura Association of overactive bladder and stress urinary incontinence in rats with pudendal nerve ligation injury Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, May 1, 2008; 294(5): R1510 - R1516. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. Noronha, H. Akbarali, A. Malykhina, R. D. Foreman, and B. Greenwood-Van Meerveld Changes in urinary bladder smooth muscle function in response to colonic inflammation Am J Physiol Renal Physiol, November 1, 2007; 293(5): F1461 - F1467. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. N. Rudick, M. C. Chen, A. K. Mongiu, and D. J. Klumpp Organ cross talk modulates pelvic pain Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, September 1, 2007; 293(3): R1191 - R1198. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. E. Ustinova, D. W. Gutkin, and M. A. Pezzone Sensitization of pelvic nerve afferents and mast cell infiltration in the urinary bladder following chronic colonic irritation is mediated by neuropeptides Am J Physiol Renal Physiol, January 1, 2007; 292(1): F123 - F130. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. P. Winnard, N. Dmitrieva, and K. J. Berkley Cross-organ interactions between reproductive, gastrointestinal, and urinary tracts: modulation by estrous stage and involvement of the hypogastric nerve Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, December 1, 2006; 291(6): R1592 - R1601. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]