Involvement of BK(Ca) channels in the relaxation of detrusor muscle via beta-adrenoceptors.

Detrusor muscle relaxes upon activation of beta-adrenoceptors on smooth muscle cells. However, the mechanism of relaxation following the stimulation of beta-adrenoceptors remains unclear. In order to clarify the mechanism, we investigated the involvement of ion channels in bladder relaxation. In guinea-pig isolated bladder strips precontracted by high-K(+), isoproterenol caused concentration-dependent relaxation. The relaxation caused by isoproterenol (1 microM) was larger in 30 mM K(+) than in 120 mM K(+) (54.2+/-8.0% and 18.2+/-4.1% of papaverine-induced relaxation, respectively, n=4). Iberiotoxin (100 nM) inhibited the isoproterenol-induced relaxation (vehicle 69.5+/-8.0% vs. iberiotoxin 24.9+/-6.2%, respectively, n=5). Whole-cell patch-clamp recording revealed that isoproterenol as well as forskolin increased the iberiotoxin-sensitive K(+) currents, and this increase was abolished by protein kinase inhibitor. These results suggest that the isoproterenol-induced relaxation of guinea-pig bladder smooth muscle is mainly mediated by facilitation of BK(Ca) channels subsequent to the activation of the cAMP/protein kinase A pathway.