The research of selenium on phenotype reversion of corpus cavernosum smooth muscle cells in hypertensive rats with erectile dysfunction / 实用医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To validate the hypothesis that the phenotype reversion occurs in the smooth muscle cells in the corpus cavernosum of hypertensive rats with selenium food and explore selenium′s impact on erectile function. Methods 25 14-week-old male spontaneously hypertensive rates (SHR) were divided into 2 groups (SHR-ED-Se group n = 8 and SHR-ED-N group n = 9). SHR-ED-Se rats were fed with selenium diet, SHR-ED-N rats and WKY rats with normal diet. And 10 syngeneic normotensive rats (WKY) were used as control group. All rats were killed after 4-week feeding. Immunohistochemical staining and color image analysis system were used to observe expression of α-actin, desmin and osteopontin (OPN) in rats corpus cavernosum of different group. Results 2 SHR-ED-N rats died. Expression of α-actin of smooth muscle in corpus cavernosum in SHR-ED-N group was the lowest in all groups (P = 0.000), so did erection frequency (P 0.05). Conclusions Phenotype modulation of smooth muscle in corpus cavernosum of SHR rats can be reversed by selenium which means the smooth cells can transform from synthetic phenotype into the contractile phenotype, resulting ultimately in improving erectile function.