Impotent mice have erections after penile cells multiply

There are diseases that are rarely talked about, but which have a high prevalence. This is the case erectile dysfunctionwhich worsens the quality of life of men suffering from it as it makes them unable to get or maintain an erection and have satisfactory sexual relationships.

The data published on the impotence maintain a similar incidence over time (more than 20% of the male population) and reflect influence Old has pointed to the prevalence of this pathology as well as its close connection with psychological problems, diabetes and Cardiovascular diseases.

The Penile erection It is partly controlled by the erectile tissue, which extends from the pubic bone to the glans and whose function is to fill with blood during sexual excitement and to enlarge through vasodilatation. On the contrary, the later publication of Norepinephrinethe vasoconstrictor drug par excellence, suppresses blood flow to the reproductive organ at a basal level.

Although the establishment and maintenance of this rigidity depends on the balance between vasodilators and norepinephrine, the regulation of this system is not yet fully understood.

A new study in mice, published today in the journal Sciencetakes his understanding one step further with the goal achieve therapeutic alternatives for the treatment of erectile dysfunction in humans.

“An erection depends on the inflow and retention of blood in the penis,” he tells SINC. Christian Göritz, a researcher at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and lead author of the paper. “And we found that fibroblasts, the most abundant cells in the organ, actively promote this influx.”

More fibroblasts, more erections

Using single-cell RNA sequencing, optical tissue clearing, and optogenetic activation in a transgenic mouse model, the team identified two large populations of perivascular fibroblast cells not yet described in the Corpora Cavernosa.

These express a specific norepinephrine transporter. According to the findings, these penile fibroblasts mediate the vasodilation of the erectile tissue and thus reduce the availability of this vasoconstrictor substance.

In addition, scientists have shown that the number of fibroblasts can adjust the regulation of blood flow and that increasing erection frequency also stimulates their proliferation, greater basal blood flow in the penis and reduced sensitivity to norepinephrine.

“We observed that the number of fibroblasts is not static, but changes depending on the number of regular erections,” adds Göritz. “The more erections, the more fibroblasts and the more efficient the blood flow to the penis. In short, This mechanism allows stiffness to be improved through training“.

“Unfortunately, we also found that the number of fibroblasts decreases when erections become less regular, which is the case during.” aging“, continue. “Fewer fibroblasts reduce blood flow to the penis and consequently make erection more difficult. Age-related erectile dysfunction could be reduced by actively achieving an erection.”

Cross-sectional image of a mouse penis. Red cells represent fibroblasts, while green cells indicate vascular smooth muscle cells and cells in cyan endothelial cells. The nuclei of all penile cells are shown in blue. / Eduardo L. Guimaraes

Limitations of the study

The observed results were obtained using animal models and therefore need to be carefully confirmed in humans. “There are approximately 30% of patients with this disorder who do not respond to conventional medications such as Viagra,” he tells SINC. Gou Young KohProfessor at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and author of a related article also published in Science.

The number of fibroblasts is not static, it changes depending on the number of regular erections

Christian Göritz, Karolinska Institute

“Although they did not study humans, their study reveals a new therapeutic paradigm with the potential to be translated to the treatment of erectile dysfunction in patients unresponsive to current therapies,” he concludes.