To determine the pathophysiological progresses following bilateral cavernous nerve crushing (BCNC) injury, as an index for a treatment point and establishment of adequate treatment strategies for neurogenic erectile dysfunction (ED).
Thirty-six rats were assigned to 1 of 6 groups, and BCNC or sham surgery was performed. Functional testing and ultrastructural analyses were performed immediately and at 7, 14, 21, and 28 d after the cavernous nerve (CN) injury (n = 6).
Intracavernos pressure lowered progressively from 7 d to 14 d post-injury, and histological staining revealed that the number of neuronal nitric oxide synthase-positive nerve fibers on the dorsal penile nerve decreased significantly and progressively from 7 d until 21 d post-injury. Furthermore, ultrastructural analyses revealed axon loss and demyelination of the CN at 7 and 14 d post-injury. However, it is followed by partial spontaneous recovery of erectile function and regeneration of the CN at 28 d post-injury, suggesting that these time points may be useful for evaluating the effects of drug treatments. Furthermore, we found that CN injury-induced damage to corporal smooth muscle cells was irreversible; therefore, focusing on protecting the corpus cavernosum from apoptosis may be more important than nerve protection when assessing treatment mechanisms in the CN injury model.
Our study makes a significant contribution to the human diagnostic pathology literature because it describes characteristics of relevant tissue in the rat, and provides information regarding time points that may be useful for future studies of pathological mechanisms or treatment evaluations.
Urology. 2017 Oct 16 [Epub ahead of print]
Yi-No Wu, Kuo-Chiang Chen, Chun-Hou Liao, Han-Sun Chiang
School of Medicine, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan., Graduate Institute of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Science, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan; PhD Program in Nutrition & Food Science, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan; Department of Urology, Cathay General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan., School of Medicine, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan; Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Cardinal Tien Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan. Electronic address: ., Graduate Institute of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Science, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan; Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Cardinal Tien Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan. Electronic address: .