Regional heterogeneity in expression of the sphingosine-1-phosphate pathway in the female rat lower urinary tract
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Updated: Jun 25, 2026
A Pipeline to Investigate the Structures and Signaling Pathways of Sphingosine 1-Phosphate Receptors
Published on: June 8, 2022
Katherine S Sandhu1, Rowena G Chua, Xinhua Zhang
1Division of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Urology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA. kathysandhu@gmail.com
Objective:
We investigated the existence and regional distribution of sphingosine-1-phosphate regulatory enzymes and receptors in the lower urinary tract and determined the functional role of sphingosine-1-phosphate receptors in the bladder.
Study Design:
Lower urinary tract tissue from 10 female rats was harvested for real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction or organ bath physiology, whereas blood serum was obtained for high-performance liquid chromatography determination of sphingosine-1-phosphate levels. Statistical analysis included the Student t test and analysis of variance.
Results:
All 3 sphingosine-1-phosphate receptors and major enzymes were expressed throughout the lower urinary tract, but expression and physiologic force generation varied among regions. Sphingosine-1-phosphate was detected in serum.
Conclusion:
We provide novel data that the sphingosine-1-phosphate signaling pathway regulatory proteins exist throughout the female rat lower urinary tract, but that relative expression exhibits regional heterogeneity corresponding with lower urinary tract contractile response to sphingosine-1-phosphate. Our study suggests that sphingosine-1-phosphate signaling is important in the lower urinary tract and identifies this pathway as a possible target for altering bladder smooth muscle tone.
