Gundogdu Gokhan, Nguyen Travis, Namasivayam Aarthi, Starek Stephanie, Gelman Joel, Mauney Joshua R
Department of Urology, University of California, Irvine, Orange, CA, USA.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
Int J Impot Res. 2024 May;36(3):269-274. doi: 10.1038/s41443-023-00671-y. Epub 2023 Feb 13.
Peyronie's disease (PD) is a debilitating pathology which is associated with penile curvature and erectile dysfunction due to the formation of fibrotic plaques in the penile tunica albuginea. In the present study, we developed a novel rabbit model of PD via subtunical injection of recombinant transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 protein and characterized erectile function and histopathological endpoints following plaque formation. Ten adult male, New Zealand white rabbits were randomized into 3 experimental groups including nonsurgical controls (NSC, N = 3) and those receiving subtunical injections of vehicle (N = 3) or TGF-β1 protein (0.5 µg/50 µl; N = 4). Following 1 month post-op, focal fibrous plaques composed of disorganized collagen type I and III bundles as well as fragmented elastin fibers at TGF-β1 injection sites were observed in contrast to control groups. Cavernosometric and cavernosographic evaluations revealed no significant differences in maximum intracorporal pressures or substantial curvature during papaverine-induced erection in either the vehicle or TGF-β1 cohorts. Immunohistochemical and histomorphometric analyses demonstrated significant increases in elastase 2B expression in TGF-β1-induced plaques as well as significant declines in matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and -9 expression relative to control levels. Our results demonstrate that PD-like fibrotic plaques can be created in the rabbit penile tunica albuginea following TGF-β1 injection.
佩罗尼氏病(PD)是一种使人衰弱的病理状况,由于阴茎白膜中形成纤维化斑块,与阴茎弯曲和勃起功能障碍相关。在本研究中,我们通过在白膜下注射重组转化生长因子(TGF)-β1蛋白,建立了一种新型的兔佩罗尼氏病模型,并对斑块形成后的勃起功能和组织病理学终点进行了表征。将10只成年雄性新西兰白兔随机分为3个实验组,包括非手术对照组(NSC,N = 3)以及接受白膜下注射赋形剂(N = 3)或TGF-β1蛋白(0.5μg/50μl;N = 4)的组。术后1个月,与对照组相比,在TGF-β1注射部位观察到由紊乱的I型和III型胶原束以及破碎的弹性纤维组成的局灶性纤维斑块。海绵体测压和海绵体造影评估显示,在注射赋形剂或TGF-β1的组中,在罂粟碱诱导勃起期间,最大体内压力或实质弯曲度均无显著差异。免疫组织化学和组织形态计量学分析表明,相对于对照水平,TGF-β1诱导的斑块中弹性蛋白酶2B表达显著增加,而基质金属蛋白酶(MMP)-2和-9表达显著下降。我们的结果表明,注射TGF-β1后可在兔阴茎白膜中形成类似佩罗尼氏病的纤维化斑块。