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Morphological changes of cholinergic nerve fibers in the urinary bladder after establishment of artificial somatic-autonomic reflex arc in rats.

ABSTRACT: To establish an artificial somatic-autonomic reflex arc in rats and observe the following distributive changes of neural fibers in the bladder.Adult Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups: control group, spinal cord injury (SCI) group, and reinnervation group. DiI retrograde tracing was used to verify establishment of the model and to investigate the transport function of the regenerated efferent axons in the new reflex arc. Choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) in the DiI-labeled neurons was detected by immunohistochemistry. Distribution of neural fibers in the bladder was observed by acetylcholine esterase staining.DiI-labeled neurons distributed mainly in the left ventral horn from L3 to L5, and some of them were also ChAT-positive. The neural fibers in the bladder detrusor reduced remarkably in the SCI group compared with the control (P < 0.05). After establishment of the somatic-autonomic reflex arc in the reinnervation group, the number of ipsilateral fibers in the bladder increased markedly compared with the SCI group (P < 0.05), though still much less than that in the control (P < 0.05).The efferent branches of the somatic nerves may grow and replace the parasympathetic preganglionic axons through axonal regeneration. Acetylcholine is still the major neurotransmitter of the new reflex arc. The controllability of detrusor may be promoted when it is reinnervated by the pelvic ganglia efferent somatic motor fibers from the postganglionic axons.

SUBMITTER: Wang HZ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5550575 | biostudies-other | 2007 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Project description:BACKGROUNDPenile erection is a complex reflex under spinal control and modulated by the brain. The hemodynamic events under autonomic control and the perineal muscles somatic activity are interconnected during the reflex erection at the spinal level, however if the afferent feedback on the corpus cavernosum pressure during an erection affects the somatic activity (perineal muscles contractions) and vice versa is not known. This study was aimed to test this hypothesis using a rat model.METHODSIntracavernous pressure (ICP) and bulbocavernosus (BC) muscle EMG were recorded during reflex erections elicited with dorsal penile nerve (DNP) electrical stimulation in anaesthetized acutely spinalized SD rats with surgically (bilateral cavernous nerve section, CnX, n?=?8) and pharmacologically (trimetaphan infusion, TMPh, n?=?8) abolished pressor response, or with surgically (bilateral section of the motor branch of the pudendal nerve, PnX, n?=?7) and pharmacologically (1 mg/kg d-tubocurarine, n?=?8) blocked perineal muscles contractions, or with interrupted afferent input from the penis (bilateral crush of the dorsal penile nerve, DPnX, n?=?7). Control rats (n?=?8) received no intervention.RESULTSModerate positive correlations were found between net parameters of pressor and somatic activity during DNP-stimulation induced reflex erection in spinal rats, particularly the speed of pressor response development was positively correlated to EMG parameters. No changes of EMG activity were found in CnX rats, while the decrease of BC EMG in TMPh-treated males can be attributed to direct inhibitory action of TMPh on neuromuscular transmission. Pressor response latency was increased and ICP front slope decreased in dTK and PnX rats, indicating that perineal muscles contraction augment pressor response. DPN crush had little effect on ICP and EMG.CONCLUSIONAfferent input on the level of intracavernous pressure and the perineal muscles activity has minimal impact on, correspondingly, the somatic and the autonomic components of the reflex erection in spinal males, once the reflex has been initiated.

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Morphological changes of cholinergic nerve fibers in the urinary bladder after establishment of artificial somatic-autonomic reflex arc in rats.

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