Involvement of nitric oxide in inhibitory innervation of urinary bladder of Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua.

The aim of this study was to investigate the involvement of nitric oxide (NO) in the nonadrenergic, noncholinergic (NANC) relaxation of the urinary bladder of the Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua. NADPH diaphorase-reactive nerve cells, presumed to be able to produce NO, were found in the vesicular nerve. The cells occurred alone and in ganglia together with stained and unstained cells. The effect of inhibitors of NO synthesis on the relaxation was examined in vitro in isolated muscle preparations. NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (10(-4) M) and NG-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA; 10(-4) M) decreased the electrically induced relaxation to 32 +/- 6 (n = 8) and 28 +/- 6% (n = 8) of the control, respectively. L-Arginine (10(-3) M) increased the relaxation to 152 +/- 24% (n = 8), without affecting the inhibition by L-NNA. The beta-adrenoceptor antagonist propranolol together with L-arginine analogues abolished the relaxation in 7 of 11 preparations. The NO donor sodium nitroprusside (NaNP) caused a concentration-dependent relaxation of the bladder, with a maximal effect obtained at 10(-4) M. LY-83583 (10(-5) M), a guanylate cyclase inhibitor, decreased both the electrically (n = 8) and the NaNP (10(-6) M, n = 9)-induced relaxation to 69 +/- 5 and 20 +/- 4% of the control, respectively. Together these findings suggest that NO is involved in the NANC regulation of the motility of the urinary bladder of the Atlantic cod.