1 Collagenase dispersal of strips of rabbit urethra yielded, in addition to normal spindle-shaped smooth muscle cells, a small proportion of branched cells which resembled the interstitial cells of Cajal dispersed from canine colon. These were clearly distinguishable from smooth muscle in their appearance under the phase-contrast microscope, their immunohistochemistry and their ultrastructure. They had abundant vimentin filaments but no myosin, a discontinuous basal lamina, sparse rough endoplasmic reticulum, many mitochondria and a well-developed smooth endoplasmic reticulum. 2 Interstitial cells were non-contractile but exhibited regular spontaneous depolarisations in current clamp. These could be increased in frequency by noradrenaline and blocked by perfusion with calcium-free solution. In voltage clamp they showed abundant calcium-activated chloride current and spontaneous transient inward currents which could be blocked by chloride channel blockers. 3 The majority of smooth muscle cells were vigorously contractile when stimulated but did not show spontaneous electrical activity in current clamp. In voltage clamp, smooth muscle cells showed very little calcium-activated chloride current. 4 We conclude that there are specialised pacemaking cells in the rabbit urethra that may be responsible for initiating the slow waves recorded from smooth muscle cells in the intact syncitium.

Potassium channels activated by membrane stretch may contribute to maintenance of relaxation of smooth muscle cells in visceral hollow organs. Previous work has identified K⁺ channels in murine colon that are activated by stretch and further regulated by NO-dependent mechanisms. We have screened murine gastrointestinal, vascular, bladder, and uterine smooth muscles for the expression of TREK and TRAAK mRNA. Although TREK-1 was expressed in many of these smooth muscles, TREK-2 was expressed only in murine antrum and pulmonary artery. TRAAK was not expressed in any smooth muscle cells tested. Whole cell currents from TREK-1 expressed in mammalian COS cells were activated by stretch, and single channel recordings showed that the stretch-dependent conductance was due to 90 pS channels. Sodium nitroprusside (10⁻⁶ or 10⁻⁵ m) and 8-Br-cGMP (10⁻⁴ or 10⁻³ m) increased TREK-1 currents in perforated whole cell and single channel recordings. Mutation of the PKG consensus sequence at serine 351 blocked the stimulatory effects of sodium nitroprusside and 8-Br-cGMP on open probability without affecting the inhibitory effects of 8-Br-cAMP. TREK-1 encodes a component of the stretch-activated K⁺ conductance in smooth muscles and may contribute to nitrergic inhibition of gastrointestinal muscles.

Isolated interstitial (“pacemaker”) cells from rabbit urethra were examined using the perforated-patch technique. Under voltage clamp at −60 mV, these cells fired large spontaneous transient inward currents (STICs), averaging −860 pA and >1 s in duration, which could account for urethral pacemaker activity. Spontaneous transient outward currents (STOCs) were also observed and fell into two categories, “fast” (1 s in duration). The latter were coupled to STICs, suggesting that they shared the same mechanism, while the former occurred independently at faster rates. All of these currents were abolished by cyclopiazonic acid, caffeine, or ryanodine, suggesting that they were activated by Ca²⁺release. Whend- myo-inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP₃)-sensitive stores were blocked with 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl borate, the STICs and slow STOCs were abolished, but the fast STOCs remained. In contrast, the fast STOCs were more nifedipine sensitive than the STICs or the slow STOCs. These results suggest that while fast STOCs are mediated by a mechanism similar to STOCs in smooth muscle, STICs and slow STOCs are driven by IP₃. These results support the hypothesis that pacemaker activity in the urethra is driven by the IP₃-sensitive store.

Interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) are the pacemaker cells responsible for the generation and propagation of electrical slow waves in phasic muscles of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The pacemaker current that initiates each slow wave derives from a calcium-inhibited, voltage-independent, nonselective cation channel. This channel in ICC displays properties similar to that reported for the transient receptor potential (TRP) family of nonselective cation channels, particularly those seen for TRPC3 and TRPC4. We have identified transcripts for TRPC4 in individually isolated ICC and have cloned the two alternatively spliced forms of TRPC4, TRPC4α and TRPC4β, from GI muscles. TRPC4β is missing an 84-amino acid segment from the carboxy terminus. Expression of either form using the whole cell patch-clamp technique led to calcium-inhibited, nonselective cation channels as determined by N-methyl-d-glucamine replacement experiments and BAPTA dialysis. Expression of TRPC4β channels recorded at the whole cell level had characteristics similar to the nonselective cation current in ICC. The single-channel conductance of TRPC4β was determined to be 17.5 pS. Application of calmidazolium to cells expressing TRPC4β led to a significant increase in the inward current of these cells at both the whole cell and single-channel level, and currents were sensitive to block by 10 μM lanthanum, niflumic acid, and DIDS. Comparison of the properties reported for the nonselective cation current in ICC and those identified here for TRPC4β led us to conclude that a TRPC4-like current encodes the plasmalemmal pacemaker current in murine small intestine.

Specific classes of interstitial cells exist in visceral organs and have been implicated in several physiological functions including pacemaking and mediators in neurotransmission. In the bladder, Kit⁺interstitial cells have been reported to exist and have been suggested to be neuromodulators. More recently a second interstitial cell, which is identified using antibodies against platelet‐derived growth factor receptor‐α (PDGFR‐α) has been described in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and has been implicated in enteric motor neurotransmission. In this study, we examined the distribution ofPDGFR‐α⁺cells in the murine urinary bladder and the relation that these cells may have with nerve fibres and smooth muscle cells. Platelet‐derived growth factor receptor‐α⁺cells had a spindle shape or stellate morphology and often possessed multiple processes that contacted one another forming a loose network. These cells were distributed throughout the bladder wall, being present in the lamina propria as well as throughout the muscularis of the detrusor. These cells surrounded and were located between smooth muscle bundles and often came into close morphological association with intramural nerve fibres. These data describe a new class of interstitial cells that express a specific receptor within the bladder wall and provide morphological evidence for a possible neuromodulatory role in bladder function.

We have analyzed the expression of KCNQ genes in murine portal vein myocytes and determined that of the 5 known KCNQ channels, only KCNQ1 was expressed. In addition to the full-length KCNQ1 transcript, a novel spliced form (termed KCNQ1b) was detected that had a 63 amino acid truncation at the C-terminus. KCNQ1b was not detected in heart or brain but represented approximately half the KCNQ1 transcripts expressed in PV. Antibodies specific for KCNQ1a stained cell membranes from portal vein myocytes and HEK cells expressing the channel. However, because the antibodies were generated against an epitope in the deleted, C-terminal portion of the protein, these antibodies did not stain HEK cells expressing KCNQ1b. In murine portal vein myocytes, in the presence of 5 mmol/L 4-aminopyridine, an outwardly rectifying K ⁺ current was recorded that was sensitive to linopirdine, a specific blocker of KCNQ channels. Currents produced by the heterologous expression of KCNQ1a or KCNQ1b were inhibited by similar concentrations of linopirdine, and linopirdine prolonged the time-course of the action potential in isolated portal vein myocytes. Our data suggest that these two KCNQ1 splice forms are expressed in murine portal vein and contribute to the delayed rectifier current in these myocytes.