Role for pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide in cystitis-induced plasticity of micturition reflexes.

Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) peptides are expressed and regulated in sensory afferents of the micturition pathway. Although these studies have implicated PACAP in bladder control, the physiological significance of these observations has not been firmly established. To clarify these issues, the roles of PACAP and PACAP signaling in micturition and cystitis were examined in receptor characterization and physiological assays. PACAP receptors were identified in various tissues of the micturition pathway, including bladder detrusor smooth muscle and urothelium. Bladder smooth muscle expressed heterogeneously PAC1null, PAC1HOP1, and VPAC2 receptors; the urothelium was more restricted in expressing preferentially the PAC1 receptor subtype only. Immunocytochemical studies for PAC1 receptors were consistent with these tissue distributions. Furthermore, the addition of 50–100 nM PACAP27 or PACAP38 to isolated bladder strips elicited transient contractions and sustained increases in the...