Expression of components of the urothelial cholinergic system in bladder and cultivated primary urothelial cells of the pig

BACKGROUND: Porcine urinary bladders are widely used for uro-pharmacological examinations due to their resemblance to the human organ. However, characterisations of the porcine urothelium at the molecular level are scarce up to now. As it has become clear over the last years that this tissue plays an important role in the signaling-pathways of the bladder, we examined whether the transporter and receptor pattern (with focus on the transmitter acetylcholine) is comparable to the human urothelium. With regard to in vitro studies, we also investigated if there is a difference between the native tissue and cultivated primary urothelial cells in culture. METHODS: Urothelium from German Landrace and Göttingen Minipig bladders was collected. One part of the German Landrace tissue was used for cultivation, and different passages of the urothelial cells were collected. The actual mRNA expression of different transporters and receptors was examined via quantitative real-time PCR. These included the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT), the choline acetyl transferase (ChAT), organic cation transporters 1–3 (OCT1–3), organic anion transporting polypeptide 1A2 (OATP1A2), P-glycoprotein (ABCB1), the carnitine acetyl-transferase (CarAT), as well as the muscarinic receptors 1–5 (M1–5). RESULTS: There is a strong qualitative resemblance between the human and the porcine urothelium with regard to the investigated cholinergic receptors, enzymes and transporters. CarAT, OCT1–3, OATP1A2 and ABCB1 could be detected in the urothelium of both pig races. Moreover, all 5 M-receptors were prominent with an emphasis on M2 and M3. VAChT and ChAT could not be detected at all. Cultures of the derived urothelial cells showed decreased expression of all targets apart from ABCB1 and CarAT. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the expression pattern of receptors, transporters and enzymes of the cholinergic system, the porcine urinary bladder can be regarded as a good model for pharmacological studies. However, cultivation of primary urothelial cells resulted in a significant drop in mRNA expression of the targets. Therefore, it can be concluded that the intact porcine urothelium, or the whole pig bladder, may be appropriate models for studies with anticholinergic drugs, whereas cultivated urothelial cells have some limitation due to significant changes in the expression levels of relevant targets.