Effect of salidroside on the expression of connexin43 in the corpus cavernosum smooth muscle cells of hypoxic rats / 中华男科学杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>Objective</b>To investigate the effect of salidroside on the expression of the connexin43 (Cx43) protein in the corpus cavernosum smooth muscle cells (CCSMCs) of hypoxic SD rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>CCSMCs were cultured in vitro and identified by immunofluorescence staining. The cells were divided into six groups normal control (21% O2), hypoxia (1% O2), hypoxia+salidroside (HS) 8 μg/ml,HS 16 μg/ml, HS 32 μg/ml, and HS 64 μg/ml, and cultured for 48 hours. Then the relative expression of Cx43 in different groups was detected by Western blot.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The in vitro cultured CCSMCs grew well and 90% of the cells showed positivity for α-SMA and desmin on immunohistochemistry. Salidroside ≤64 μg/ml produced no obvious toxicity on the CCSMCs. The expressions of Cx43 and phosphorylated proteins were dramatically increased in the hypoxia group as compared with the normal control (P<0.01 and P<0.05). The HS groups all showed significantly higher expression of Cx43 than the hypoxia group (P<0.01), but the phosphorylation rate of the Cx43 proteins was remarkably decreased (P<0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Hypoxia increases the expression of Cx43 in the CCSMCs of SD rats. Salidroside ≤64 μg/ml cannot reverse the hypoxia-induced change but can reduce the dephosphorylation of Cx43 in CCSMCs. It is deduced that salidroside can protect CCSMCs by decreasing the phosphorylation of Cx43 and suppressing hypoxia-induced formation of the gap junction channel.</p>