Xu Zhunan, Wang Shangren, Liu Chunxiang, Kang Jiaqi, Pan Yang, Zhang Zhexin, Zhou Hang, Xu Mingming, Li Xia, Wang Haoyu, Niu Shuai, Liu Li, Sun Daqing, Liu Xiaoqiang
Department of Urology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China.
Department of Pediatric Surgery, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China.
World J Mens Health. 2025 Jan;43(1):213-227. doi: 10.5534/wjmh.230337. Epub 2024 May 17.
Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common male sexual dysfunction. Gut microbiota plays an important role in various diseases. To investigate the effects and mechanisms of intestinal flora dysregulation induced by high-fat diet (HFD) on erectile function.
Male Sprague-Dawley rats aged 8 weeks were randomly divided into the normal diet (ND) and HFD groups. After 24 weeks, a measurement of erectile function was performed. We performed 16S rRNA sequencing of stool samples. Then, we established fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) rat models by transplanting fecal microbiota from rats of ND group and HFD group to two new groups of rats respectively. After 24 weeks, erectile function of the rats was evaluated and 16S rRNA sequencing was performed, and serum samples were collected for the untargeted metabolomics detection.
The erectile function of rats and the species diversity of intestinal microbiota in the HFD group was significantly lower, and the characteristics of the intestinal microbiota community structure were also significantly different between the two groups. The erectile function of rats in the HFD-FMT group was significantly lower than that of rats in the ND-FMT group. The characteristics of the intestinal microbiota community structure were significantly different. In the HFD-FMT group, 27 metabolites were significantly different and they were mainly involved in the several inflammation-related pathways.
Intestinal microbiota disorders induced by HFD can damage the intestinal barrier of rats, change the serum metabolic profile, induce low-grade inflammation and apoptosis in the corpus cavernosum of the penis, and lead to ED.
勃起功能障碍（ED）是一种常见的男性性功能障碍。肠道微生物群在各种疾病中发挥着重要作用。本研究旨在探讨高脂饮食（HFD）诱导的肠道菌群失调对勃起功能的影响及其机制。
将8周龄雄性Sprague-Dawley大鼠随机分为正常饮食（ND）组和HFD组。24周后，对勃起功能进行检测。对粪便样本进行16S rRNA测序。然后，分别将ND组和HFD组大鼠的粪便微生物群移植到两组新的大鼠中，建立粪便微生物群移植（FMT）大鼠模型。24周后，评估大鼠的勃起功能并进行16S rRNA测序，同时收集血清样本进行非靶向代谢组学检测。
HFD组大鼠的勃起功能及肠道微生物群的物种多样性显著降低，两组肠道微生物群落结构特征也存在显著差异。HFD-FMT组大鼠的勃起功能显著低于ND-FMT组大鼠，肠道微生物群落结构特征也存在显著差异。在HFD-FMT组中，有27种代谢物存在显著差异，主要涉及几种炎症相关通路。
HFD诱导的肠道微生物群紊乱可破坏大鼠肠道屏障，改变血清代谢谱，诱导阴茎海绵体低度炎症和细胞凋亡，进而导致ED。
