Human, pig and guinea‐pig bladder smooth muscle cells generate similar inward currents in response to purinoceptor activation

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Abstract
The contribution of purinergic neurotransmission to bladder excitation in pigs and man is small. Exogenously‐applied adenosine‐trisphosphate (ATP) however, elicits large inward currents in dispersed bladder smooth muscle cells in both species. The essential properties of the ATP‐induced current in human and pig detrusor are similar and the current intensity is comparable to those in the guinea‐pig, which has a powerful purinergic excitatory innervation. This suggests that other features of the tissue such as the closeness of the innervation and the degree of cell‐to‐cell coupling may be important in determining the effectiveness of purinergic transmission.