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A biophysically constrained computational model of the action potential of mouse urinary bladder smooth muscle.

ABSTRACT: Urinary incontinence is associated with enhanced spontaneous phasic contractions of the detrusor smooth muscle (DSM). Although a complete understanding of the etiology of these spontaneous contractions is not yet established, it is suggested that the spontaneously evoked action potentials (sAPs) in DSM cells initiate and modulate the contractions. In order to further our understanding of the ionic mechanisms underlying sAP generation, we present here a biophysically detailed computational model of a single DSM cell. First, we constructed mathematical models for nine ion channels found in DSM cells based on published experimental data: two voltage gated Ca2+ ion channels, an hyperpolarization-activated ion channel, two voltage-gated K+ ion channels, three Ca2+-activated K+ ion channels and a non-specific background leak ion channel. The ion channels' kinetics were characterized in terms of maximal conductances and differential equations based on voltage or calcium-dependent activation and inactivation. All ion channel models were validated by comparing the simulated currents and current-voltage relations with those reported in experimental work. Incorporating these channels, our DSM model is capable of reproducing experimentally recorded spike-type sAPs of varying configurations, ranging from sAPs displaying after-hyperpolarizations to sAPs displaying after-depolarizations. The contributions of the principal ion channels to spike generation and configuration were also investigated as a means of mimicking the effects of selected pharmacological agents on DSM cell excitability. Additionally, the features of propagation of an AP along a length of electrically continuous smooth muscle tissue were investigated. To date, a biophysically detailed computational model does not exist for DSM cells. Our model, constrained heavily by physiological data, provides a powerful tool to investigate the ionic mechanisms underlying the genesis of DSM electrical activity, which can further shed light on certain aspects of urinary bladder function and dysfunction.

SUBMITTER: Mahapatra C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6061979 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Bladder small DRG neurons, which are putative nociceptors pivotal to urinary bladder function, express more than a dozen different ionic membrane mechanisms: ion channels, pumps and exchangers. Small-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (SKCa) channels which were earlier thought to be gated solely by intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca]i) have recently been shown to exhibit inward rectification with respect to membrane potential. The effect of SKCa inward rectification on the excitability of these neurons is unknown. Furthermore, studies on the role of KCa channels in repetitive firing and their contributions to different types of afterhyperpolarization (AHP) in these neurons are lacking. In order to study these phenomena, we first constructed and validated a biophysically detailed single compartment model of bladder small DRG neuron soma constrained by physiological data. The model includes twenty-two major known membrane mechanisms along with intracellular Ca2+ dynamics comprising Ca2+ diffusion, cytoplasmic buffering, and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondrial mechanisms. Using modelling studies, we show that inward rectification of SKCa is an important parameter regulating neuronal repetitive firing and that its absence reduces action potential (AP) firing frequency. We also show that SKCa is more potent in reducing AP spiking than the large-conductance KCa channel (BKCa) in these neurons. Moreover, BKCa was found to contribute to the fast AHP (fAHP) and SKCa to the medium-duration (mAHP) and slow AHP (sAHP). We also report that the slow inactivating A-type K+ channel (slow KA) current in these neurons is composed of 2 components: an initial fast inactivating (time constant ? 25-100 ms) and a slow inactivating (time constant ? 200-800 ms) current. We discuss the implications of our findings, and how our detailed model can help further our understanding of the role of C-fibre afferents in the physiology of urinary bladder as well as in certain disorders.

Project description:The muscularis mucosae, a type of smooth muscle located between the urothelium and the urinary bladder detrusor, has been described, although its properties and role in bladder function have not been characterized. Here, using mucosal tissue strips isolated from guinea pig urinary bladders, we identified spontaneous phasic contractions (SPCs) that appear to originate in the muscularis mucosae. This smooth muscle layer exhibited Ca(2+) waves and flashes, but localized Ca(2+) events (Ca(2+) sparks, purinergic receptor-mediated transients) were not detected. Ca(2+) flashes, often in bursts, occurred with a frequency (?5.7/min) similar to that of SPCs (?4/min), suggesting that SPCs are triggered by bursts of Ca(2+) flashes. The force generated by a single mucosal SPC represented the maximal force of the strip, whereas a single detrusor SPC was ?3% of maximal force of the detrusor strip. Electrical field stimulation (0.5-50 Hz) evoked force transients in isolated detrusor and mucosal strips. Inhibition of cholinergic receptors significantly decreased force in detrusor and mucosal strips (at higher frequencies). Concurrent inhibition of purinergic and cholinergic receptors nearly abolished evoked responses in detrusor and mucosae. Mucosal SPCs were unaffected by blocking small-conductance Ca(2+)-activated K(+) (SK) channels with apamin and were unchanged by blocking large-conductance Ca(2+)-activated K(+) (BK) channels with iberiotoxin (IbTX), indicating that SK and BK channels play a much smaller role in regulating muscularis mucosae SPCs than they do in regulating detrusor SPCs. Consistent with this, BK channel current density in myocytes from muscularis mucosae was ?20% of that in detrusor myocytes. These findings indicate that the muscularis mucosae in guinea pig represents a second smooth muscle compartment that is physiologically and pharmacologically distinct from the detrusor and may contribute to the overall contractile properties of the urinary bladder.

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A biophysically constrained computational model of the action potential of mouse urinary bladder smooth muscle.

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