Inhibition by tadalafil of contractility of isolated nonpregnant human myometrium

OBJECTIVE To investigate the inhibitory effect of tadalafil on the contractility of isolated nonpregnant human myometrium. MATERIALS AND METHODS The ability of tadalafil (25, 40, and 63 μM) to inhibit 55 mM KCl-induced contractility of isolated nonpregnant human myometrium was studied. The ability of the ATP-sensitive potassium channel blocker glibenclamide (10 μM) and the calcium-sensitive potassium channel (BKCa) blocker iberiotoxin (100 nM) to reverse the inhibitory effect of 40 μM tadalafil on 55 mM KCl-induced myometrial contractility was also studied. RESULTS Tadalafil produced a concentration-dependent inhibition of myometrial contractility that was statistically significant at 40 and 63 μM concentrations of tadalafil. The inhibition by tadalafil of myometrial contractility was statistically significantly reversed by the concurrent administration of glibenclamide and iberiotoxin. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that tadalafil inhibits human myometrial contractility by opening ATP-sensitive potassium channels and BKCa channels. The opening of these channels could have been due to the action of raised intracellular levels of cGMP due to inhibition of PDE-5 by tadalafil. The results suggest that tadalafil could be investigated for use in clinical conditions requiring relaxation of the myometrium.