Volume 26, Issue 1 (January 2024) 26, 99–106; 10.4103/aja202324
N-acetylcysteine ameliorates erectile dysfunction in rats with hyperlipidemia by inhibiting oxidative stress and corpus cavernosum smooth muscle cells phenotypic modulation
Ding, Wei1,*; Fan, Jun-Hong2,*; Zhong, Li-Ren3; Wang, Nan-Xiong4; Liu, Lu-Hao5; Zhang, Hai-Bo3; Wang, Li3; Wang, Ming-Qiang6; He, Bing-Lin3; Wei, An-Yang3
1Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guiyang 550002, China
2Department of Urology, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou 510000, China
3Department of Urology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510000, China
4Department of Urology, Shenzhen Immigration Inspection General Station Hospital, Shenzhen 518000, China
5Department of Organ Transplantation, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510000, China
6Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guiyang 550002, China
Correspondence: Dr. AY Wei (profwei@126.com)
Originally published: July 28, 2023 Received: June 5, 2022 Accepted: May 22, 2023
Abstract |
Hyperlipidemia is a major risk factor for erectile dysfunction (ED). Oxidative stress and phenotypic modulation of corpus cavernosum smooth muscle cells (CCSMCs) are the key pathological factors of ED. N-acetylcysteine (NAC) can inhibit oxidative stress; however, whether NAC can alleviate pathological variations in the corpus cavernosum and promote erectile function recovery in hyperlipidemic rats remains unclear. A hyperlipidemia model was established using 27 eight-week-old male Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats fed a high-fat and high-cholesterol diet (hyperlipidemic rats, HR). In addition, 9 male SD rats were fed a normal diet to serve as controls (NC). HR rats were divided into three groups: HR, HR+normal saline (NS), and HR+NAC (n = 9 for each group; NS or NAC intraperitoneal injections were administered daily for 16 weeks). Subsequently, the lipid profiles, erectile function, oxidative stress, phenotypic modulation markers of CCSMCs, and tissue histology were analyzed. The experimental results revealed that erectile function was significantly impaired in the HR and HR + NS groups, but enhanced in the HR + NAC group. Abnormal lipid levels, over-activated oxidative stress, and multi-organ lesions observed in the HR and HR + NS groups were improved in the HR + NAC group. Moreover, the HR group showed significant phenotypic modulation of CCSMCs, which was also inhibited by NAC treatment. This report focuses on the therapeutic effect of NAC in restoring erectile function using a hyperlipidemic rat model by preventing CCSMC phenotypic modulation and attenuating oxidative stress.
Keywords: erectile dysfunction; hyperlipidemia; N-acetylcysteine; oxidative stress; phenotypic modulation
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