title: Role of oxidative stress in surgical cavernous nerve injury in a rat model.
abstract: This study investigates the role of oxidative stress in surgical cavernous nerve (CN) injury in a rat model. Eighty-four male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups: group 1, sham-operated rats; group 2, bilateral CN-crushed rats; and group 3, bilateral CN-transection-and-sutured-immediately rats. Oxidative stress was evaluated by malondialdehyde levels, super oxide dismutase (SOD) activities, and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) activities in serum. Erectile function was assessed by CN electrostimulation at 3 months with mean maximal intracavernous pressure (ICP) and maximal ICP per mean arterial pressure. Nerve injury was assessed by toluidine blue staining of CNs and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH)-diaphorase staining of penile tissue. GPX protein expression and nitrotyrosine-3 (NT-3) levels in penile tissue were measured. Erectile function and the number of myelinated axons of CNs and NADPH-diaphorase-positive nerve fibers were statistically decreased between groups, from sham to crush to transection. For markers, both nerve-injury groups showed increased oxidative stress markers at early time points, with the transection group showing greater oxidative stress than the crushed group and values normalizing to sham levels by week 12. GPX expression and NT-3 levels in penile tissue were in concordance with the results of SOD and GPX. These results show that oxidative stress plays an important role in injured CNs, and different methods of CN injury can lead to different degrees of oxidative stress in a rat model.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology and Andrology, Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University, Wuhan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xie-Gang
authors.initials: XG
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Shi-Wen
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Hang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Xin-Min
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Shrestha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Navin
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Xing-Huan
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000378:metabolism; D009252:NADPH Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000502:physiology*; D010410:Penile Erection; D059348:Peripheral Nerve Injuries / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D008315:Malondialdehyde; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase; D009252:NADPH Dehydrogenase
keywords: cavernous nerve; erectile dysfunction; oxidative stress