Contractile properties of ureters from rats with infravesical urinary outlet obstruction
Author
Summary, in English
Mechanical properties of ureters from rats with infravesical urinary outflow obstruction were studied in vitro. Urinary outflow obstruction was created by partial ligation of the urethra in female rats. After 10 days a marked hypertrophy of the urinary bladder and a dilatation of the ureters were observed. Proximal and distal segments of the ureters from these animals were isolated and mounted in a wire myograph for force registration. Comparisons were made with ureters from control rats. The ureters from the rats with urinary outflow obstruction exhibited a large increase in lumen diameter and an unchanged thickness of the muscle layer. These data suggest that the dilatation of the ureters is associated with growth of the smooth muscle in the wall. All ureter preparations were relaxed in normal physiological salt solution. When the extracellular K+ concentration was increased to 20 mM the dilated ureters became spontaneously active. At [K+] in the range 20-40 mM in the presence of noradrenaline (10(-5) M) all ureters exhibited high-frequency spontaneous contractions. The dilated ureters had a lower frequency of spontaneous contractions and a higher force. The results show a pronounced remodelling of the ureter wall following infravesical outlet obstruction. The structural changes were associated with alterations in the contraction pattern of the preparations, most probably reflecting changes in the excitation-contraction coupling of the growing cells.
Publishing year
1998
Language
English
Pages
337-342
Publication/Series
Urological Research
Volume
26
Issue
5
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Springer
Topic
- Urology and Nephrology
- Pharmacology and Toxicology
- Medicinal Chemistry
Keywords
- Ureter
- Urinary bladder
- Smooth muscle
- Hypertrophy
- Rats
Status
Published
Research group
- Urology
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 0300-5623