Length-tension relations of smooth muscle from normal and denervated rat urinary bladders

Urinary bladders of rats were denervated by bilateral excision of the pelvic ganglion and removed 10 days after the operation. They were filled with 0.75 ml saline and a longitudinal muscle strip was marked out, measured and dissected out. Strips from normal bladders filled with the same volume were used as controls. Denervated bladders were 4-5 times heavier than control bladders. Muscle strips from denervated bladders showed, in contrast to controls, marked phasic spontaneous contractions which were unaffected by tetrodotoxin, indicating a myogenic origin. Active tension in response to AC stimulation was measured at different lengths. In relation to the in situ length (Lin situ) at 0.75 ml the denervated strips had to be stretched to much greater extent than controls in order to reach optimum length (L0) for force development. Furthermore, the denervated strips shortened less in relation to Lin situ than the controls. If active length-tension relations were expressed in relation to L0, the difference between denervated and control strips was abolished. Maximal active force was the same for denervated and control strips. Water content increased significantly in denervated bladders. The results suggest a remodelling of the smooth muscle structure in denervated bladders; the characteristics of the contractile machinery seem, however, to be unaltered.