Objective: To assess the role of cholinergic angonists and antagonists on the growth control of cultured rabbit detrusor smooth muscle cells.
Design: Dosage dependent growth curve analysis of smooth muscle cells in standard media to bethanechol and atropine at concentrations from 1 x 10(-5) to 1 x 10(-9) mMol.
Results: Exogenous exposure to bethanechol results in a significant dose dependent increase in total cell number over a 10 day period. At a concentration of 1 x 10-6 and 1 x 10-5 mMol a 20% to 50% growth increase is noted. Exogenous atropine at all concentrations decreased growth by approximately five fold.
Conclusions: The exogenous application of muscarinic cholinergic agonists and antagonists can significantly effect bladder muscle cell growth in vitro. The mechanism of growth control through these pharmacological receptors remains to be elucidated.