title: Octodon degus, a new model to study the agonist and plexus-induced response in the urinary bladder.
abstract: Urinary bladder function consists in the storage and controlled voiding of urine. Translational studies require animal models that match human characteristics, such as Octodon degus, a diurnal rodent. This study aims to characterize the contractility of the detrusor muscle and the morphology and code of the vesical plexus from O. degus. Body temperature was measured by an intra-abdominal sensor, the contractility of detrusor strips was evaluated by isometric tension recording, and the vesical plexus was studied by electrical field stimulation (EFS) and immunofluorescence. The animals showed a diurnal chronotype as judged from core temperature. The myogenic contractile response of the detrusor muscle to increasing doses of KCl reached its maximum (31.04 mN/mm2) at 60 mM. In the case of cumulative dose-response of bethanecol, the maximum response (37.42 mN/mm2) was reached at 3.2 × 10-4M. The response to ATP was clearly smaller (3.8 mN/mm2). The pharmacological dissection of the EFS-induced contraction identified ACh and sensory fibers as the main contributors to this response. The neurons of the vesical plexus were located mainly in the trigone area, grouped in big and small ganglia. Out of them, 48.1 % of the neurons were nitrergic and 62.7 % cholinergic. Our results show functional and morphological similarities between the urinary bladder of O. degus and that of humans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Nursing and Occupational Therapy, University of Extremadura, 10003, Caceres, Spain.
authors.forename: Francisco Eduardo
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Martin-Cano
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Nursing and Occupational Therapy, University of Extremadura, 10003, Caceres, Spain.
authors.forename: Mercedes
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Caso-Agundez
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Nursing and Occupational Therapy, University of Extremadura, 10003, Caceres, Spain.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Camello-Almaraz
authors.affiliation: Digestive Surgery Service, "San Pedro de Alcantara" Hospital, 10003, Cáceres, Spain.
authors.forename: Francisco Juan
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: Digestive Surgery Service, "Infanta Cristina" Hospital, 06006, Badajoz, Spain.
authors.forename: María Teresa
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Espin
authors.affiliation: Chronobiology Laboratory, College of Biology, University of Murcia, IMIB-Arrixaca, 30100, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan Antonio
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Madrid
authors.affiliation: Musculoskeletal research group, Red Temática de Investigación Cooperativa en Envejecimiento y Fragilidad (RETICEF), ISCIII, IMIM (Hospital del Mar Research Institute), Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Adolfo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Diez-Perez
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Nursing and Occupational Therapy, University of Extremadura, 10003, Caceres, Spain.
authors.forename: Pedro Javier
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Camello
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Nursing and Occupational Therapy, University of Extremadura, 10003, Caceres, Spain. mjpozo@unex.es.
authors.forename: Maria Jose
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Pozo
mesh_terms: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D018723:Bethanechol / Q000494:pharmacology; D001831:Body Temperature; D059329:Cholinergic Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D005724:Ganglia / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D018721:Muscarinic Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000187:drug effects*; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000294:innervation* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D045283:Natriuretic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D026602:Nitrergic Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D046329:Octodon / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D011189:Potassium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology; D013045:Species Specificity; D001743:Urinary Bladder / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000294:innervation* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D018721:Muscarinic Agonists; D045283:Natriuretic Agents; D018723:Bethanechol; D011189:Potassium Chloride; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate
keywords: Innervation (MeSH terms); Muscle, smooth; Urinary bladder