Abstract

Abstract: The inhibitory effect of common urinary pathogens and endotoxin has been evaluated in an in vitro system using small strips of human and animal ureter. These studies indicate that inhibition of ureteral smooth muscle contractility occurs from an acute, reversible reaction mediated by live, rapidly growing urinary pathogens. Inhibition occurs independently of major environmental physicochemical changes and independently of beta-adrenergic receptor stimulation. An extracellular toxin previously has been identified only for species of Escherichia coli. Bacterial endotoxin produced conflicting results and its role remains in question. From these studies, in vitro inhibition of ureteral contractility probably involves a number of bacterial factors acting either on the surface of smooth muscle cells or their environment.