843
Views
14
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Research Article

Pravastatin improves the impaired nitric oxide-mediated neurogenic and endothelium-dependent relaxation of corpus cavernosum in aged rats

, , &
Pages 259-266 | Received 10 Apr 2013, Accepted 28 Jul 2013, Published online: 03 Sep 2013
 

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of pravastatin treatment on diminished corpus cavernosum (CC) function associated with aging.

Methods: Male rats were divided into three groups as adult rats (12–14 weeks old), aged rats (72–80 weeks old) and aged rats given 10 mg/kg/d pravastatin in drinking water for six weeks. Blood pressure was measured by tail-cuff method. Total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, triglycerides and testosterone levels were estimated in blood. Changes in expression levels of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), phosphorylated eNOS (p-eNOS) (Ser-1177), neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), NADPH oxidase subunit gp91phox, Rho A and Rho kinase (ROCK2) in CC were assessed by immunohistochemistry. Nitric oxide (NO)-mediated endothelium-dependent and neurogenic CC relaxation were evaluated by acetylcholine (ACh, 0.1 nM–100 µM) and electrical field stimulation (EFS; 30 V, 5 ms, 2–32 Hz), respectively.

Results: In aged rats, NO-mediated, both endothelium-dependent and neurogenic CC relaxation, were significantly impaired as compared to adult rats. Besides, eNOS, p-eNOS and nNOS expressions decreased significantly in CC from aged rats, while gp91phox, RhoA and ROCK2 expressions increased significantly. The diminished relaxation in response to ACh or EFS as well as the changes in expression of these proteins in aged rats were significantly improved by pravastatin treatment.

Conclusion: Pravastatin improves NO-mediated CC relaxations of aged rats probably by inhibiting NADPH oxidase/Rho kinase pathways, and this effect does not seem to be associated with lipid lowering effect of this drug.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.