Objective: To explore the effects of transplantation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) on improving erectile function of streptozocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats.
Methods: Male Sprague Dawley rats were injected either with STZ to induce diabetes or with citrate buffer as controls. Rat BM-MSCs were harvested and labeled with Chloromethyl Benzamido derivatives of 1,1’-dioctadecyl-3,3,3’,3’-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate (CM-DiI), and then transplanted into corporal cavernosum of STZ-induced diabetic rats. Four weeks after transplantation, all rats were analyzed for erectile function and penile histology.
Results: After BM-MSCs transplantation, the ICP/MAP ratio was increased significantly compared with diabetic controls. Content of smooth muscle and endothelium in corporal cavernosa of BM-MSCs transplanted rats was significantly increased compared to diabetic controls. Immunofluorescence analysis demonstrated that CM-DiI-labeled BM-MSCs could stay in corporal cavernosa for at least 4 weeks and some of them expressed von Willebrand Factor, CD31, calponin, or α-smooth muscle actin, cells markers for endothelial cells or smooth muscle cells, respectively.
Conclusions: Intracavernous transplantation of BM-MSCs had beneficial effects on erectile function of diabetic rats and increased the content of endothelium and smooth muscle in corporal cavernosum.
