INTRODUCTION: Patients with diabetes-associated erectile dysfunction (ED) are characterized by an increase in circulating tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α).
However, no study has indicated whether and how TNF-α plays a role in the pathogenesis of ED associated with diabetes.
AIM: We examined the effects and potential mechanism of infliximab (INF), a chimeric monoclonal antibody to TNF-α, on reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in corpus cavernosum and ED in diabetic rats.
METHODS: Four groups of male rats were used: age-matched normal controls; diabetic rats induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) combined with a single streptozotocin (STZ) injection (35 mg/kg body weight, intraperitoneal [i.p.]); nondiabetic rats receiving INF (5 mg/kg body weight/week, i.p.), and diabetic rats receiving INF. Erectile function was assessed with electrical stimulation of the cavernous nerve after 8 weeks. The blood and penile tissues were harvested for plasma biochemical determinations, serum TNF-α measurement, penile ROS detection, and molecular assays of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase subunits, endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), phospho-eNOS, and neural nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) in the penis.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The effect of INF on HFD/STZ-induced diabetic ED and NADPH oxidase-mediated ROS generation was studied in diabetic corpus cavernosum.
RESULTS: Untreated diabetic rats displayed significantly decreased erectile parameters, and increased plasma TNF-α levels, penile ROS production, p47phox and gp91phox expression compared with nondiabetic controls. INF neutralized TNF-α and significantly reduced ED in diabetic rats, in which marked decreases in p47phox and gp91phox expression and ROS generation in corpus cavernosum were noted. The ratio of phospho-eNOS to eNOS and expression of nNOS in the penis were significantly increased in INF-treated vs. untreated diabetic rats.
CONCLUSIONS: Increased TNF-α expression associated with diabetes contributes to ED by promoting NAPDH oxidase-mediated ROS generation in corpus cavernosum. INF protects against diabetic ED by neutralizing TNF-α.
Written by:
Long T, Liu G, Wang Y, Chen Y, Zhang Y, Qin D. Are you the author?
Department of Physiology, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, China.
Reference: J Sex Med. 2012 Jul;9(7):1801-14.
doi: 10.1111/j.1743-6109.2012.02739.x
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 22524530
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