title: In vivodetermination of muscle-derived stem cells in the rat corpus cavernosum.
abstract: The aim of the presentin vivostudy was to determine the presence of muscle-derived stem cells (MDSCs) in the corpus cavernosum of rats. Immunohistochemistry and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were performed to detect the expression of the stem cell markers stem cell antigen-1 (Sca-1), Oct4 and Desmin in Sprague-Dawley rats aged 2, 5 and 20 months. Sca-1 was mainly expressed in the blood vessels and cavernous sinus and staining revealed that Sca-1 was predominantly expressed in the cytoplasm. Desmin was primarily expressed in muscular tissues and staining demonstrated that it was mainly expressed in the cytoplasm, however, Desmin was also partially expressed in the nuclei. A small number of double positive cells, expressing Sca-1 and Desmin, were also detected near the cavernous sinus. It was found that the expression of the markers was negatively correlated with the age of the rats (P<0.05). The results from the RT-PCR demonstrated that the expression levels of Sca-1 and Desmin significantly decreased with age (P<0.05). In addition, the correlation analysis indicated that the expression of Sca-1 and Desmin were negatively correlated with the age of the rats (r=--0.929; P<0.05). In conclusion, the present study provided evidence for the presence of MDSCs in the rat corpus cavernosum. MDSCs may be a potential therapeutic treatment for organic erectile dysfunction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urinary Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215004, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Lijun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Urinary Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215004, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Boxin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: Department of Urinary Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215004, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yuxi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shan
authors.affiliation: Department of Urinary Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215004, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Urinary Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215004, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Urinary Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215004, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Dongrong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Urinary Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215004, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Chuanyang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Urinary Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215004, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cui
keywords: erectile dysfunction; muscle-derived stem cells; rat corpus cavernosum; stem cell markers