Disruption of Cav1.2-mediated signaling is a pathway for ketamine-induced pathology

Abstract

Ketamine is a general anesthetic that is used also as an anti-depressant, but its use is associated with cystitis. Here, the authors show that ketamine is an antagonist of the Cav1.2 channel in bladder smooth muscle cells, that ablation of this channel in mice mimics the cystitis induced by ketamine, and show that this effect can be abrogated by an agonist of this ion channel.