• Beatrice M Girard, John D Tompkins, Rodney L Parsons, Victor May, and Margaret A Vizzard.
• Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA.
• J. Mol. Neurosci. 2012 Nov 1;48(3):730-43.

AbstractWe have previously demonstrated nerve growth factor (NGF) regulation of pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP)/receptors in bladder reflex pathways using a transgenic mouse model of chronic NGF overexpression in the bladder using the urothelial-specific uroplakin II promoter. We have now explored the contribution of target-derived NGF in combination with cyclophosphamide (CYP)-induced cystitis to determine whether additional changes in neuropeptides/receptors are observed in micturition reflex pathways due to the presence of additional inflammatory mediators in the urinary bladder. Quantitative PCR was used to determine PACAP/vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), substance P, galanin, and receptor transcript expression in the urinary bladder (urothelium, detrusor) in mice with overexpression of NGF in the urothelium (NGF-OE) and wild-type (WT) mice with CYP-induced cystitis (4 h, 48 h, and chronic). With CYP-induced cystitis (4 h), WT and NGF-OE mice exhibited similar changes in galanin transcript expression in the urothelium (30-fold increase) and detrusor (threefold increase). In contrast, PACAP, VIP, and substance P transcripts exhibited differential changes in WT and NGF-OE with CYP-induced cystitis. PAC1, VPAC1, and VPAC2 transcript expression also exhibited differential responses in NGF-OE mice that were tissue (urothelium vs. detrusor) and CYP-induced cystitis duration-dependent. Using conscious cystometry, NGF-OE mice treated with CYP exhibited significant (p ≤ 0.01) increases in voiding frequency above that observed in control NGF-OE mice. In addition, no changes in the electrical properties of the major pelvic ganglia neurons of NGF-OE mice were detected using intracellular recording, suggesting that the urinary bladder phenotype in NGF-OE mice is not influenced by changes in the efferent limb of the micturition reflex. These studies are consistent with target-derived NGF and other inflammatory mediators affecting neurochemical plasticity and the reflex function of micturition pathways.

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