Neuropeptide immunoreactivity and choline acetyltransferase activity in the mouse urinary bladder following inoculation with Semliki Forest Virus.
The effect of Semliki Forest Virus, a known central demyelinating agent and a proposed model for multiple sclerosis, on the innervation of the mouse urinary bladder has been examined 3, 6, 9 and 12 weeks after inoculation. Three weeks after Semliki Forest Virus inoculation, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide content of the bladder was reduced and the density of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-immunoreactive nerves was decreased in the smooth muscle, but not in the mucosa. Choline acetyltransferase activity and neuropeptide Y and substance P content was normal, as was the pattern of innervation by acetylcholinesterase-containing and neuropeptide Y- and substance P-immunoreactive nerve fibres. Six weeks after Semliki Forest Virus inoculation, the choline acetyltransferase activity was significantly reduced. Between 6 and 9 weeks the level of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide in the bladder of Semliki Forest Virus-infected mice significantly increased, so that at 9 weeks it was higher than the control value. However, by 12 weeks both choline acetyltransferase activity and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide content were normal. At this time, the substantial age-related increase in substance P content of the bladder was more pronounced in the Semliki Forest Virus-treated animals. Thus there are transitory changes in the innervation of the mouse bladder by vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-containing and cholinergic nerve fibres after exposure to a central demyelinating agent which may reflect changes in bladder dysfunction seen in multiple sclerosis patients.
Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, University College London, U.K.
H E
HE
Moss
E M
EM
Tansey
P
P
Milner
J
J
Lincoln
G
G
Burnstock
D000818:Animals; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase / Q000378:metabolism*; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D009478:Neuropeptide Y / Q000378:metabolism; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000378:metabolism*; D012672:Semliki forest virus; D013373:Substance P / Q000378:metabolism; D013997:Time Factors; D014036:Togaviridae Infections / Q000378:metabolism*; D001743:Urinary Bladder / Q000378:metabolism*; D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide / Q000378:metabolism
D009478:Neuropeptide Y; D009479:Neuropeptides; D013373:Substance P; D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase