Regional and muscle layer variations in cholinergic nerve control of the rat myometrium during the oestrous cycle

To determine regional and muscle layer differences in the cholinergic nerve control of uterine activity, functional and immunohistochemical experiments were carried out on the cervix, and circular and longitudinal muscle from the caudal and rostral uterine horn in cyclic rats. During oestrus, in vitro electrical field stimulation evoked contractions in the cervix and myometrium of the caudal horn, predominantly in circular muscle layer. All evoked responses were tetrodotoxin-sensitive and completely abolished by atropine, thus were cholinergic nerve-mediated. In contrast, no electrical field stimulation-induced contraction occurred in either the circular or longitudinal muscle from the rostral uterus. Concentration-response curves for carbachol showed that muscarinic receptor-mediated contractions occurred in all uterine regions and muscle layers during oestrus. Immunohistochemistry for the cholinergic nerve marker, vesicular acetylcholine transporter showed that the predominance of the acetylcholine-dependent contractions in circular muscle preparations were related to a layer-specific distribution of cholinergic nerve fibres, abundant in the circular muscle but scarce in the longitudinal muscle layer. In addition, the absence of electrical field stimulation-evoked acetylcholine-dependent contractions in the rostral uterus was correlated to a marked decrease in the density of cholinergic fibres along the caudo-rostral axis of the organ. In the uterus from diestrus rats, contractions were not elicited in response to electrical field stimulation in the cervix and circular or longitudinal muscle from the caudal as well as rostral uterine horn. Addition of cumulative doses of carbachol failed to increase in a concentration-dependent manner the frequency and amplitude of contractions in the cervix and myometrial layers from either the caudal and rostral uterine horn. The distribution and density of cholinergic nerve fibres along the uterus and between the muscle layers did not differ from the oestrus stage. We conclude that the cholinergic nerve control of uterine activity is layer-specific and predominant in the caudal uterine horn and the cervix. Impairment of this nerve control from oestrus to diestrus stages occurred in relation to a decrease in the myometrial sensitivity to muscarinic stimulation, not to a decrease in the density of cholinergic innervation.