Purinergic mechanisms appear to be involved in motor as well as sensory functions in the urinary bladder. ATP released from efferent nerves excites bladder smooth muscle, whereas ATP released from urothelial cells can activate afferent nerves and urothelial cells. In the present study, we used immunohistochemical techniques to examine the distribution of purinoceptors in the urothelium, smooth muscle, and nerves of the normal cat urinary bladder as well as possible changes in the ...

ATP can be released from a variety of cell types by mechanical stimulation; however, the mechanism for this release and the influence of pathology are not well understood. The present study examined intracellular signaling mechanisms involved in swelling-evoked (exposure to a hypotonic solution) release of ATP in urothelial cells from normal cats and cats diagnosed with interstitial cystitis (feline interstitial cystitis; FIC). Using the luciferin-luciferase bioluminescent assay, we ...

PURPOSE: Alterations in nitric oxide (NO) levels have been demonstrated in some humans with interstitial cystitis (IC) as well as in chemically induced animal models of cystitis. Thus, in the current study we investigated whether inducible NO synthase (iNOS) mediated NO production is altered in the bladder of cats with a naturally occurring model of IC termed feline IC (FIC).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We examined iNOS expression using Western immunoblotting and baseline NO production using ...

Interstitial cystitis (IC) is a painful disorder which affects urinary bladder function in cats and humans. We used patch clamp techniques to measure firing properties and K+ currents of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons (L4-S3) from normal cats and cats with feline interstitial cystitis (FIC) to examine the possibility that the properties of primary afferent neurons are changed in cats with FIC. We found that capsaicin (CAPS)-responsive neurons from FIC cats were increased in size, had ...

BACKGROUND: Olfactory stimulation is an often overlooked method of environmental enrichment for cats in captivity. The best known example of olfactory enrichment is the use of catnip, a plant that can cause an apparently euphoric reaction in domestic cats and most of the Pantherinae. It has long been known that some domestic cats and most tigers do not respond to catnip. Although many anecdotes exist of other plants with similar effects, data are lacking about the number of cats that ...

PURPOSE: Interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome and myofascial pelvic pain are frequently comorbid chronic pelvic pain disorders. Differences in bladder function between interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome and myofascial pelvic pain suggest that efferent autonomic function may differentiate these syndromes. Heart rate variability, defined as the difference in duration of successive heartbeats, serves as an index of autonomic function by measuring its ability to modify heart ...

PURPOSE: We documented the uncoupling of sympathetic nervous system activity from the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in cats with feline interstitial cystitis (FIC). Altered hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal activity was recently suggested in some humans with interstitial cystitis (IC) but to our knowledge no information exists on adrenal gland size and histopathology in this disease. To investigate further adrenal function in cats with FIC we determined cortisol responses to 125 ...

The distribution of P2X and P2Y receptor subtypes in upper lumbosacral cat dorsal root ganglia (DRG) has been investigated using immunohistochemistry. Intensity of immunoreactivity for six P2X receptors (P2X(5) receptors were immuno-negative) and the three P2Y receptors examined in cat DRG was in the order of P2Y(2) = P2Y(4)>P2X(3)>P2X(2) = P2X(7)>P2X(6)>P2X(1) = P2X(4)>P2Y(1). P2X(3), P2Y(2), and P2Y(4) receptor polyclonal antibodies stained 33.8%, 35.3%, and 47.6% of DRG neurons, ...

PURPOSE: We systematically identified and evaluated various animal models that have been studied to help identify the underlying mechanisms of and possible treatment options for interstitial cystitis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Models of interstitial cystitis published between 1983 and 2001 were obtained by searching MEDLINE and other Internet databases using cystitis and model as the primary key words. Models with characteristics of interstitial cystitis similar to those defined by National ...

AIM: The urothelium, or epithelial lining of the lower urinary tract (LUT), is likely to play an important role in bladder function by actively communicating with bladder nerves, smooth muscle, and cells of the immune and inflammatory systems. Recent evidence supports the importance of non-neuronal cells that may extend to both the peripheral and central processes of the neurons that transmit normal and nociceptive signals from the urinary bladder. Using cats diagnosed with a naturally ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of stress in cats with feline idiopathic cystitis (FIC) by evaluating bladder permeability, sympathetic nervous system function, and urine cortisol:creatinine (C:Cr) ratios during periods of stress and after environmental enrichment.

DESIGN: Prospective study.

ANIMALS: 13 cats with FIC and 12 healthy cats.

PROCEDURE: Cats subjected to an acute-onset moderate stressor for 8 days received IV injections of fluorescein. Serum fluorescein concentrations ...

Unique barrier properties of the urothelial surface membrane permit urine storage. Interstitial cystitis causes disabling dysuria, and frequency. Similarly, feline interstitial cystitis (FIC) occurs in cats. These studies define the permeability and structural properties of normal and FIC urothelium. To determine the effects of bladder filling, groups were studied before and after hydrodistention. Normal urothelium with or without hydrodistention exhibited high transepithelial ...

PURPOSE: Environmental stressors seem to play a role in exacerbation of symptoms of interstitial cystitis (IC), both in cats and in human beings. These observations suggest a role for the sympathetic nervous system in the pathophysiology of IC. To begin to assess the underlying role in IC of the pontine nucleus locus coeruleus (LC), the most important source of norepinephrine in the central nervous system, we compared the intensity of tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity (THIR) in ...