BACKGROUND Following prolonged partial bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) in the mouse, cholinergic mediated detrusor contractility decreases. Previous work has demonstrated an increase in the inducible form of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) at the mRNA and protein levels soon after obstruction. Since nitric oxide (NO), the product of the action of iNOS on molecular oxygen and l-arginine, produces vasodilation and decreases platelet aggregation, we believe it is an integral part of the initial detrusor response to obstruction. These experiments evaluated the detrusor response in mice incapable of producing iNOS. METHODS Wild type and knockout mice were partially obstructed for 1, 3, and 5 weeks. Physiologic evaluation consisted of cystometric analyses, and muscle strip studies in response to cholinergic and electrical stimulation. Strips were also relaxed with L-arginine, sodium nitroprusside, and 8-bromoguanosine 3' - 5' cyclic GMP, after precontraction. RESULTS After 5 weeks of obstruction, both wild type (WT) and knockout (KO) mouse bladders increased significantly in weight. WT bladders obstructed for 5 weeks had the greatest capacity (increase of 42%, p = 0.022), and a decreased contractile response to carbachol (decrease of 32% at 10-5 M, p = 0.018). No differences were noted at 1 and 3 weeks of obstruction. In contrast, KO mice had a significantly larger bladder capacity at 1 week of obstruction compared with WT, and had significantly lower responses to electrical stimulation than WT at the same time (p = 0.03). Additionally, after 5 weeks of obstruction, bladder capacity and contractility returned to baseline levels in KO mice, at a time when WT mice had significantly larger capacity and decreased contractility. CONCLUSIONS Bladder function following partial BOO in mice incapable of producing iNOS differed significantly from the normal response. Our data suggest that generation of iNOS soon after obstruction is necessary to prevent detrusor dysfunction at that time. Moreover, the enhanced function seen in KO bladders after longer periods of obstruction (5 weeks) in comparison to WT bladders suggests that reactive nitrogen species-induced protein nitrosylation may be involved in the loss of contractile function observed after more prolonged periods of obstruction.