The Role of Androgen Receptors in Erectile Dysfunction Due To Diabetes Mellitus: An Experimental Study
Keywords:
Erectile dysfunction, diabetes mellitus, androgen receptor, immunohistochemical staining, serum total testosterone levelAbstract
Objective: To investigate the role of serum total testsoterone levels and androgen receptors in diabetic rats with erectile dysfunction and to contribute to the development of the new treatment strategies for these diseases based on common pathogenesis.
Material and Methods: In the study, we used 8 rats in the control group, 8 rats in diabetes mellitus (DM) group and 8 rats in castration group. In the control group (Group 1) rats were formed entirely healthy male rats. In the DM group (Group 2), DM was induced by streptozotocin injection. In castration group (Group 3), rats underwent bilateral orchiectomy. In all groups, weight, serum total testosterone level and intracavernosal pressure, mean arterial pressure ratios (ICP / MAP) was measured. Rats were sacrificed at the 3rd week of the study in Group 1, at the 3rd week of castration in Group 3 and at the 6th week of the DM formation in Group 2. After that, pancreas, prostate, corpus cavernosum and testicular tissue was dissected and immunohistochemical staining for androgen receptor examination was performed.
Results: The median serum total testosterone levels for Group 1, 2 and 3 were 2.5±0.92; 0.46±0.17 and 0.1 ng/ml respectively. Groups 2 and 3, serum total testosterone levels was significantly lower compared with Group 1 (p<0.01). No statistically significant difference showed between Group 2 and 3 (p=0.41). AR expression is compared between groups 1 and 2; no changes in the corpus cavernosum and the prostate, increased expression in pancreas langerhans islets and decreased expression in the testis were found.
Conclusion: According to our results, serum total testosterone level decreased significantly in diabetic rats with ED, AR expression did not change in the prostate and corpus cavernosum, increased in the pancreatic langerhans islet cells and decreased in the testis.
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