Association of nNOS and Rho‑kinase with age‑associated erectile dysfunction in Sprague‑Dawley rats

Ding,Zhibo; Shen,Xingjie; Li,Yunfei

doi:10.3892/etm.2017.4064

Association of nNOS and Rho‑kinase with age‑associated erectile dysfunction in Sprague‑Dawley rats

Authors:
- Zhibo Ding
- Xingjie Shen
- Yunfei Li
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Affiliations: Department of Urology, The Fourth People's Hospital of Jinan, Jinan, Shandong 250031, P.R. China, Department of Gastroenterology, Jinan Central Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250013, P.R. China, Center for Reproductive Medicine, The General Hospital of Jinan Military Command, Jinan, Shandong 250031, P.R. China
Published online on: January 19, 2017 https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2017.4064
Pages: 1133-1136

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Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the changes of Rho‑associated kinase (Rho‑kinase) and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) expression in age‑associated erectile dysfunction (ED) in Sprague‑Dawley (SD) rats. A total of 100 intact male SD rats were divided into 20 groups according to their age (5‑24 months; rats that were the same age in months were in the same group). Erectile response measurements were performed and the functional index intracavernosal pressure/mean arterial pressure (ICP/MAP) was tested, followed by detection of Rho‑kinase and nNOS protein by western blot analysis. Finally, correlation analyses of the association between ICP/MAP and Rho‑kinase, nNOS, or nNOS/Rho‑kinase, as well as between age and nNOS or Rho‑kinase, were performed. The functional index ICP/MAP decreased with age in SD rats. Moreover, the expression of nNOS protein decreased, while Rho‑kinase expression increased, indicating that the nNOS/Rho‑kinase ratio decreased with age. The Pearson's correlation coefficients for the association between ICP/MAP and Rho‑kinase, nNOS and nNOS/Rho‑kinase ratio were ‑0.917, 0.853 and 0.937, respectively (P<0.01). Furthermore, nNOS was found to be significantly negatively correlated with age (r=‑0.855; P<0.01), whereas Rho‑kinase was positively correlated with age (r=0.943; P<0.01). Age‑associated ED was therefore correlated with decreased nNOS and increased Rho‑kinase, indicating that the nNOS/Rho‑kinase ratio may be used as a candidate indicator of age‑associated ED.

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