Effect of diabetes and insulin treatment on nitric oxide synthase content in rat corpus cavernosum.
OBJECTIVE
To study the effect of diabetes mellitus and insulin treatment on rat penile nitric oxide synthase content.


METHODS
Male Wistar rats were divided at random into two groups: the Control (n = 8) and the Diabetic (n = 17). Diabetes mellitus was induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin. The diabetic animals were then randomly divided into two subgroups: diabetic rats without insulin treatment (n = 7) and diabetic rats with insulin treatment (n = 10). The neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) in the penile corpus cavernosum were assayed by immumohistochemical staining with specific antibody to nNOS and the nNOS-positive nerve fibers were counted semiquantitatively under a high power microscope.


RESULTS
The nNOS- positive nerve fibres in diabetic rats with treatment was higher than that in diabetic rats without treatment (P < 0.05) and lower than that in the controls (P < 0. 01). The nNOS-positive nerve fibres in diabetic rat without treatment were also lower than that in the controls (P < 0. 01).


CONCLUSIONS
In streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats, the nNOS content in the penile corpus cavernosum was significantly decreased. Insulin treatment at the dose level employed partially restores the penile nNOS content in these rats.
Xu
Z S
ZS
Department of Urology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, China. xianzhouj@163.net
Fu
Q
Q
Zhao
S T
ST
Liu
H N
HN
D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000201:enzymology*; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007328:Insulin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D009412:Nerve Fibers / Q000378:metabolism; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000378:metabolism*; D052248:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I; D010413:Penis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000294:innervation; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012016:Reference Values
D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D007328:Insulin; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D052248:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I; C496322:Nos1 protein, rat