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Gu J, Zhu LK, Zhao X, Jiang J, Jiang R. Low testosterone state inhibits erectile function by downregulating the expression of GIT1 in rat penile corpus cavernosum. Sex Med 2023; 11:qfad017. [PMID: 37256221 PMCID: PMC10226814 DOI: 10.1093/sexmed/qfad017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 04/05/2023] [Accepted: 04/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The mechanism of erectile dysfunction (ED) caused by a low androgen level is still not clear. Aim To explore the influence of the low testosterone state on G protein-coupled receptor kinase interactor 1 (GIT1) and its contact to erectile function. Methods Thirty male Sprague-Dawley rats aged 8 weeks were distributed at random into 5 groups: control (sham operated), castration, testosterone supplement after castration, castration + vacant lentiviral transfection, and castration + lentiviral transfection. The testis and epididymis were removed through a scrotal incision to develop castrated rats. Four weeks after castration, a lentivirus carrying the GIT1 gene was injected into the middle of rat penile corpus cavernosum. One week after transfection, maximum intracavernous pressure/mean arterial pressure (ICPmax/MAP), serum testosterone, nitric oxide, GIT1, endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), phospho-eNOS (p-eNOS), p-eNOS/eNOS, and the interaction between eNOS and GIT1 were assessed in the rats. Outcomes The levels of GIT1 in the penile cavernous tissue of castrated rats are significantly lower than that of controls. Results GIT1 was expressed in the cytoplasm and cell membrane of vascular endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells in rat penile tissue. In comparison with normal rats, the castrated rats showed lower levels of GIT1 expression, GIT1 and eNOS interaction, p-eNOS/eNOS, nitric oxide, and ICPmax/MAP (P < .01). Overexpression of GIT1 can intensively enhance the expression level of GIT1, the interaction between GIT1 and eNOS, p-eNOS/eNOS, nitric oxide, and ICPmax/MAP in rats (P < .01). Clinical Translation Modulating the interaction between eNOS and GIT1 might be a novel method of treating ED caused by a low androgen level. Strengths and Limitations The impact of GIT1 phosphorylation on the activity of eNOS and its possible mechanisms affecting erectile function require further study. Conclusion A low testosterone state inhibits erectile function in rats by reducing the expression of GIT1 and the protein interaction between GIT1 and eNOS.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Xin Zhao
- Department of Urology, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, 646000, China
| | - Jun Jiang
- Department of Thyroid Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, 646000, China
| | - Rui Jiang
- Corresponding author: Department of Urology, Nephropathy Clinical Medical Research Center of Sichuan Province, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Taiping Road, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, China. ;
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Yang HZ, Xiong WJ, Li X, Jiang J, Jiang R. Low androgen status inhibits erectile function by up-regulating the expression of proteins of mitochondria-associated membranes in rat corpus cavernosum. Andrology 2022; 10:997-1007. [PMID: 35466583 DOI: 10.1111/andr.13188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2022] [Revised: 04/05/2022] [Accepted: 04/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of low androgen status on mitochondria-associated membranes (MAMs) and its relationship with erectile function. METHODS A total of 36 eight-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 6 groups: the control (sham-operated) group, the castration group, the castration + testosterone (cast + T) group, the control + siRNA group, the cast + siRNA group, and the cast + empty vector group. Testosterone propionate (3 mg/kg) was subcutaneously injected into the rats in the cast + T group every other day starting from the second day after the surgery. Four weeks later, lentiviral vectors carrying phosphofurin acidic cluster sorting protein 2 (PACS-2) gene-specific siRNA (1 × 108 TU/ mL, 10 μL) were injected into the rats in the siRNA groups. At the 6th week of castration, the ratio of the maximum intracavernous pressure/the mean arterial pressure (ICPmax/MAP), the levels of nitric oxide (NO), endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), phospho-eNOS (p-eNOS), fatty acid-CoA ligase 4 (FACL-4), PACS-2, and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor type 1 (IP3R1) in the penile corpus cavernosum were determined. RESULTS The FACL-4, PACS-2 and IP3R1 were primarily localized in the cytoplasm of endothelial cells and part of smooth muscle cells in the corpus cavernosum. The level of NO, the ratio of ICPmax/MAP, and p-eNOS/eNOS were decreased significantly in the castration group compared with the control group (P<0.01). The expressions of FACL-4, PACS-2, and IP3R1 were increased significantly in the castration group compared with the control group (P<0.01). The level of NO, the ratios of ICPmax/MAP, and the ratio of p-eNOS/eNOS were increased significantly in the cast + siRNA group compared with the castration group (P<0.01). The expressions of FACL-4 and PACS-2 were decreased significantly in the cast + siRNA group compared with the castration group (P<0.01). CONCLUSION Low androgen status up-regulated the expressions of patients in MAMs (FACL-4, PACS-2 and IP3R1) in the corpus cavernosum and inhibited the eNOS/NO/cGMP signaling pathway, resulting in impaired erectile function in rats. Erectile function may be improved by inhibiting the high expression of PACS-2 in the corpus cavernosum under low androgen state. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao-Zhou Yang
- Department of Urology, the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, 646000, China
| | - Wen-Ju Xiong
- Department of Urology, the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, 646000, China
| | - Xiong Li
- Department of Urology, the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, 646000, China
| | - Jun Jiang
- Department of Thyroid Surgery, the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, 646000, China
| | - Rui Jiang
- Department of Urology, the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, 646000, China.,Nephropathy Clinical Medical Research Center of Sichuan Province, China
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Chen ZB, Li G, Lin H, Jiang J, Jiang R. Low androgen status inhibits erectile function by increasing pyroptosis in rat corpus cavernosum. Andrology 2021; 9:1264-1274. [PMID: 33657666 DOI: 10.1111/andr.12995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2020] [Revised: 02/01/2021] [Accepted: 02/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The mechanism of erectile dysfunction (ED) caused by low androgen status is not fully understood. OBJECTIVES To investigate whether low androgen status inhibits erectile function of rats by inducing pyroptosis in the corpus cavernosum (CC). MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty-six eight-weeks-old healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats were equally divided into six groups: sham-operated group (4w sham, 8w sham), castration group (4w cast, 8w cast), and castration + testosterone (T) group (4w cast + T, 8w cast + T). The rats in castration + T groups were injected with testosterone propionate subcutaneously every other day. After 4 and 8 weeks, the ratio of maximum intracavernous pressure (ICPmax)/mean arterial pressure (MAP), the level of serum T, the concentration of nitric oxide (NO) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β), the expression of NOD-like receptor pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3), apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase activation and recruitment domain (ASC), Caspase-1 p20, gasdermin D-N (GSDMD-N), transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1), collagen-I, and collagen-III, the ratio of smooth muscle/collagen (SM/C), and the proportion of pyroptotic cells in the CC were analyzed. RESULTS The ratio of ICPmax/MAP (3/5 V) and SM/C, the level of NO and serum T was significantly decreased in castration groups when compared to other groups (p < 0.01). NLRP3, ASC, Caspase-1, and GSDMD were mainly expressed in the cytoplasm of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and endothelial cells (ECs) in the CC. The expression of NLRP3, ASC, Caspase-1p20, GSDMD-N, IL-1β, TGF-β1, collagen-I, and collagen-III was significantly increased in castration groups when compared with other groups (p < 0.01). The proportion of pyroptotic cells in the CC was increased significantly in castration groups when compared with other groups (p < 0.05). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION Low androgen status inhibits erectile function of rats by promoting CC fibrosis and reducing NO synthesis through pyroptosis of SMCs and ECs in the CC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhi-Bin Chen
- Department of Urology, the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
| | - Ge Li
- Department of Urology, the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
| | - Haocheng Lin
- Department of Urology and Andrology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Jun Jiang
- Department of Thyroid Surgery, the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
| | - Rui Jiang
- Department of Urology, the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China.,Nephropathy Clinical Medical Research Center of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
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Xiong W, Kong X, Jiang J, Yang Z, Jiang R. Low androgen status inhibits erectile function by inducing eNOS uncoupling in rat corpus cavernosum. Andrology 2020; 8:1875-1883. [PMID: 32594586 DOI: 10.1111/andr.12844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2020] [Revised: 05/12/2020] [Accepted: 06/17/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The number of erectile dysfunction (ED) patients is increasing annually. How to improve the effectiveness of ED treatment is an important issue for the field of andrology. OBJECTIVES To investigate whether low androgen status impairs the erectile function of rats by regulated endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) uncoupling. MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty-six 8-week-old male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into six groups as follows: 4-week sham-operated group (4w-sham), 4-week castration group (4w-cast), 4-week castration + testosterone (T) group (4w-cast + T), 8-week sham-operated group (8w-sham), 8-week castration group (8w-cast), and 8-week castration + T group (8w-cast + T). Three mg/kg of T was subcutaneously injected every other day in castration + T groups. The ratio of the maximum intracavernous pressure/the mean arterial pressure (ICPmax/MAP), the level of serum T, dihydrobiopterin(BH2 ), tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4 ), nitric oxygen(NO), 3-nitrotyrosine(3NT), dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), guanosine triphosphate cyclohydrolase 1 (GTPCH1), nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase 2 (NOX2), and eNOS monomers/dimers in the corpus cavernosum were detected. RESULTS The ratio of ICPmax/MAP and BH4 /BH2 , the level of serum T, NO, and GTPCH1 decreased significantly in castration groups compared with sham-operated groups and castration + T groups (P < .05) and decreased significantly in 8w-cast group compared with 4w-cast group (P < .05). The expression of 3NT and NOX2 and the ratio of eNOS monomers/dimers increased significantly in castration groups compared with sham-operated groups and castration + T groups (P < .01) and increased significantly in 8w-cast group compared with 4w-cast group (P < .01). The expression of DHFR in 4w-cast group was significantly higher than that in 4w-sham group and 4w-cast + T group (P < .01) and in 8w-cast group was significantly lower than that in 8w-sham group and 8w-cast + T group (P < .01). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION Low androgen status induces eNOS uncoupling by reducing BH4 /BH2 and increasing 3NT. Due to the decreased NO production, the erectile function of the rats was impaired.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenju Xiong
- Department of Urology, the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Xiangjun Kong
- Department of Urology, the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Jun Jiang
- Department of Thyroid Surgery, the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Zhihui Yang
- Department of Pathology, the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Rui Jiang
- Department of Urology, the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China.,Nephropathy Clinical Medical Research Center of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, China
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Kong X, Jiang J, Cheng B, Jiang R. Effect of low androgen status on the expression of adenosine A 2A and A 2B receptors in rat penile corpus cavernosum. Andrologia 2019; 51:e13344. [PMID: 31206753 DOI: 10.1111/and.13344] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2019] [Revised: 05/16/2019] [Accepted: 05/20/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
To investigate whether low androgen status affects erectile function by regulating the expression of adenosine A2A and A2B receptors in rat penile corpus cavernosum. Thirty-six 8-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into six groups: sham-operated group (4w-sham, 8w-sham), castration group (4w-cast, 8w-cast) and androgen replacement group (4w-cast+T, 8w-cast+T). The rats in the androgen replacement groups were subcutaneously injected with testosterone propionate (3 mg/kg) every other day after castration. The maximum intracavernous pressure/mean arterial pressure (ICPmax/MAP), the expression of A2A , A2B , AKT and eNOS and the concentrations of cAMP and cGMP in the corpus cavernosum were detected at the 4th and 8th weeks after the operation. The serum testosterone level and the ratio of ICPmax/MAP decreased significantly in the castration group as compared to other groups (p < 0.01). There was no significant difference in the expression of A2A receptor among groups, while the expression of A2B , AKT and eNOS and the concentrations of cAMP and cGMP in the castration group were significantly lower than in other groups (p < 0.01). Low androgen status inhibits the AKT/eNOS/cGMP signalling pathways and the production of cAMP in the corpus cavernosum of castrated rats by down-regulating the expression of A2B receptor, and results in decreased of ICPmax/MAP.
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Affiliation(s)
- XiangJun Kong
- Department of Urology, Nephropathy Clinical Medical Research Center of Sichuan Province, Affiliated Hospital, Southwest medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Jun Jiang
- Department of Thyroid Surgery, Affiliated Hospital, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Bo Cheng
- Department of Urology, Nephropathy Clinical Medical Research Center of Sichuan Province, Affiliated Hospital, Southwest medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Rui Jiang
- Department of Urology, Nephropathy Clinical Medical Research Center of Sichuan Province, Affiliated Hospital, Southwest medical University, Luzhou, China
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