Abstract

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES:Psychological stress exacerbates bladder dysfunction such as overactive bladder (OAB) and bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis (BPS/IC). We previously reported that bombesin (BB), a stress-related neuropeptide, centrally induces facilitation of the rat micturition reflex. Brain BB is reported to activate hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis and sympathetic nerves, as representative responses to stressful conditions, via brain corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), another stress-related neuropeptide. Therefore, we examined whether brain CRF is involved in the BB-induced frequent urination in rats.METHODS:(1) In urethane anesthetized (0.8 g/kg, ip) male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats (300-400 g), a catheter was inserted into the bladder to perform cystometry (CMG, 12 ml/h saline infusion). Astressin (a non-selective CRF receptor antagonist, 1 or 3 nmol/rat) was intracerebroventricularly (icv) pretreated 60 min before BB administration (0.03 nmol/rat, icv). CMG was started 60 min b...

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