[Advanced glycation end products and their receptors elevate the activity of endothelin-1 in rat cavernosum].
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the role of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and their receptors (RAGE) in the pathogenesis of diabetic mellitus erectile dysfunction (DMED) and the effects of AGEs and RAGE on the activity of endothelin-1 (ET-1) in rat cavernosum.


METHODS
Forty male Sprague-Dawley rats were taken at random to construct 2 groups of diabetes mellitus (DM) models of equal number, one given free access to water and the other administered aminoguanidine hydrochloride (DM + AG) in water at the dose of 1 g/L. Another 20 male SD rats were equally divided into a normal control and an AG control group. After 8 weeks, the cavernosum tissues were harvested from all groups of rats, part of the isolated penile tissues homogenated to detect the content of AGE-peptide (AGE-P) and the activity of ET-1, and the AGEs and RAGE in the rest of the penile tissues analyzed by immunohisto- chemical assay.


RESULTS
Compared with the normal controls, the expressions of AGEs and RAGE, the content of AGE-P and the activity of ET-1 in the cavernosum tissues were significantly high in the DM group (P < 0.05), while the administration of AG to the DM rats reversed the above results. No significant difference was observed between the normal control and AG control groups in any of the data (P > 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
In DM conditions, the joint effect of AGEs and RAGE may elevate the activity of ET-1 in rat cavernosum and thus promote the development of DMED.
Chen
Dong
D
Department of Urology, Second Hospital Affiliated to Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215004, China.
Shan
Yu-Xi
YX
Dai
Yu-Tian
YT
D000818:Animals; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D019332:Endothelin-1 / Q000378:metabolism*; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage; D017127:Glycation End Products, Advanced / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D006146:Guanidines / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008297:Male; D010413:Penis / Q000378:metabolism*; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000378:metabolism*
D019332:Endothelin-1; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D017127:Glycation End Products, Advanced; D006146:Guanidines; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; C004479:pimagedine