Participation of Caudal Ventrolateral Medulla in the Regulation of Gallbladder Motility in Rabbits

To investigate whether the caudal ventrolateral medulla (CVLM) participates in the regulation of gallbladder motility, we studied the effects of microinjection of L-glutamate and other agents into the CVLM on gallbladder pressure (GP) in anesthetized rabbits. A frog bladder connected with a force transducer was inserted into the gallbladder to record the change of GP. Microinjection of L-glutamate into the CVLM decreased GP, While micnoinjection of gamma-amino-butyric acid (GABA) increased GP. Microinjection of ketamine, a noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, into CVLM increased GP, while microinjection of 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-(1H,4H)-dione (CNQX), a competitive (+/-)-a-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid (AMPA)/kainate receptor antagonist, had no significant effect on GP. The effects of L-glutamate was abolished by ketamine, but not by CNQX. Intravenous injection of phentolamine or transection of the spinal cord eliminated the effects of L-glutamate on GP. These results indicate that [1] CVLM participated in the regulation of gallbladder motility; [2] endogenous L-glutamate in CVLM is involved in the regulation mediated by NMDA receptors, the output of which is sent through sympathetic nerve and alpha-adrenergic receptors.