The effect of the 5-HT2A/2C receptor agonist DOI on micturition in rats with chronic spinal cord injury.

PURPOSE: We examined the effects of the 5-HT2A/2C receptor agonist DOI on micturition in chronic spinal cord injured rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Female Sprague-Dawley® rats were used. Spinal cord injury was produced by transection at the T10 level. A cystometric study was performed 8 to 12 weeks after transection. Cystometrograms were done using urethane anesthesia in all rats. The selective 5-HT2A antagonist ketanserin was administered after each DOI dose-response curve. All drugs were administered intravenously. RESULTS: Compared to controls, spinal cord injured rats had higher bladder capacity and post-void residual urine volume, and lower voiding efficiency. In spinal cord injured rats DOI (0.01 to 0.3 mg/kg) induced significant dose dependent increases in micturition volume and decreases in residual volume, resulting in increased voiding efficiency. Cystometrogram measurements showed a dose dependent increase in high frequency oscillation activity, evident as an increased number of small oscillation per voiding. This correlated with the improved voiding efficiency. Ketanserin (0.1 mg/kg) partially or completely reversed the DOI induced changes. CONCLUSIONS: High frequency oscillation seems to reflect external urethral sphincter burst activity during voiding. Bladder voiding efficiency and high frequency oscillation activity were decreased in spinal cord injured rats. High frequency oscillation activity can be enhanced by 5-HT2A receptor agonism, improving voiding efficiency. To our knowledge it remains to be studied whether these results may have implications for the future treatment of voiding dysfunction in patients with spinal cord injury.

Improving voiding efficiency in the diabetic rat by a 5-HT1A serotonin receptor agonist.

AIMS: Serotonin affects micturition in the normal rat through actions not only on ascending and descending spinal pathways and supraspinal centers but also on the lumbosacral spinal cord level. The selective 5-HT1A receptor agonist, 8-OH-DPAT((R)-(+)-8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino) tetralin), reversed detrusor-sphincter dyssynergia (DSD) in the spinal cord injury (SCI) rat. Rats with experimental diabetes mellitus (DM) have been shown to have both bladder and urethral dysfunction during reflex voiding. We therefore examined the effects of 8-OH-DPAT on micturition in DM rats. METHODS: Female Sprague-Dawley rats were used. DM was induced by an intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ, 65 mg/kg) and a cystometric study was performed 8 weeks post-injection. External urethral sphincter electromyography (EUS-EMG) was also measured. The 5-HT1A antagonist WAY-100635(N-tert-butyl-3-(4-(2-methoxyphenyl)-piperazin-1-yl)-2-phenylpropanamide) was administered after each 8-OH-DPAT dose-response. RESULTS: Compared to controls, DM rats had a higher bladder capacity, residual volume, and a lower voiding efficiency. In DM rats, 8-OH-DPAT (3-1,000 µg/kg, i.v.) induced significant dose-dependent increases in micturition volume, and decreases in residual volume, resulting in increases in voiding efficiency. During the micturition, there was a dose-dependent increased phasic EUS activity correlated with the improved voiding efficiency. WAY-100635 (300 µg/kg, i.v.) reversed the 8-OH-DPAT-induced changes. CONCLUSIONS: Both the bladder voiding efficiency and the periodic EUS activity were decreased in DM rats. 5-HT1A receptor agonism promoted periodic EUS activity, thereby improving voiding efficiency. Whether or not these results may have implications for the future treatment of voiding dysfunction in DM patients remains to be studied.