title: Injection of skeletal muscle-derived cells into the penis improves erectile function.
abstract: We investigated the effect of intrapenile injection of muscle-derived cells (MDC) on the erectile function in rats with bilateral cavernous nerve injury. Rat MDC were harvested and transduced with a retrovirus expressing the lacZ gene. Hanks' balanced salt solution (HBSS) (20 microl) or MDC (1 x 10(6) cells/side) were injected in each corpora cavernosa immediately before bilateral cavernous nerve transection. Intracavernous pressures (ICP) were measured 2 or 4 weeks after surgery with electrical stimulation of the pelvic nerves. Mean maximal ICP of sham group was significantly lower than that of control group both at 2 and 4 weeks after surgery. When MDC were injected into the penis, ICP improved over the sham-injected group at both 2 and 4 weeks after surgery. Percent area of PGP 9.5 staining was significantly greater in MDC-injected penis than in sham-injected at 2 and 4 weeks. Penile MDC injection can facilitate recovery of injured penile innervation and improve erectile function.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: de Miguel
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Usiene
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yoshimura
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huard
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Chancellor
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017690:Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D007172:Erectile Dysfunction / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D007267:Injections; D008297:Male; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000166:cytology*; D010410:Penile Erection / Q000502:physiology*; D010413:Penis / Q000166:cytology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley