Characteristics of the NANC post-stimulus ('rebound') contraction of the urinary bladder neck muscle in sheep.

1. Strips of muscle from sheep bladder neck were set up for tension recording and subjected to electrical field stimulation (EFS) to stimulate their intramural nerves. 2. In the presence of atropine (1 microM) and guanethidine (1 microM), the response to 1 Hz EFS was biphasic, characterized by a relaxation during the stimulus period, followed by a post-stimulus contraction. A similar biphasic response was also seen following bolus application of nitric oxide (NO). 3. In the absence of atropine and guanethidine, the relaxations were masked by contractions during stimulation; however, the post-stimulus contraction were unaffected. L-NAME (100 microM) blocked the post-stimulus contractions and L-arginine (1 mM) restored them, suggesting that they were NO-mediated. 4. M&B 22948, a phosphodiesterase inhibitor, prolonged the relaxations and abolished the post-stimulus contractions. This suggests that rapid removal of cyclic GMP is required for post-stimulus contraction to occur. 5. When the number of pulses in the stimulus train was kept constant, the size of the post-stimulus contraction increased as the duration of the preceding period of stimulation increased. Maximal post-stimulus contractions were obtained following stimulation for > 40 s. 6. The L-channel antagonist, nifedipine (1 microM) and verapamil (1 microM), had little effect on the amplitude of the post-stimulus contractions. 7. In contrast, ryanodine-(8 microM) reduced the post-stimulus contractions by over 90%. Caffeine (20 mM) also abolished the post-stimulus contractions and cyclopiazonic acid (CPA, 10 microM) reduced them by 76%. However, in the presence of CPA a slower post-stimulus contraction developed. Nifedipine (1 microM) reduced this by 40%. 8. In conclusion, these results support a role for NO in the post-stimulus contraction of the sheep bladder neck muscle. The post-stimulus contraction depends more on release of intracellular Ca2+, than Ca2+ influx through L-type channels.