Identification of Endothelial Progenitor Cells in the Corpus Cavernosum in Rats. (20th October 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lee, Jun Sik; Hwang, In Sang; Lee, Hyun-Suk; Kim, Mi Eun; Seo, Young-Woo; Park, Kwangsung
• Other Names: Azadzoi Kazem M. Academic Editor.
• Is Part Of: BioMed research international. Volume 2014(2014)
• Publication Date: 2014-10-20
• Subjects: Medicine -- Periodicals; Biology -- Periodicals; Biotechnology -- Periodicals; Life sciences -- Periodicals; 610.5
• DOI: 10.1155/2014/910564
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2314-6133

Abstract

Abstract : The vascular wall resident progenitor cells seem to serve as a local reservoir of cells for vascular repair. It was hypothesized that the corpus cavernosum may contain vascular wall endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs). In this study, we investigated the identification and localization of EPCs in the corpus cavernosum in a rat model. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were used to isolate EPCs from corpora cavernosum. To verify the existence and localization of EPCs, EPC-specific markers (CD34, Flk-1, and VE-cadherin) were evaluated by flow cytometric analysis and confocal microscopy. The EPC markers were mainly expressed in the cavernosal sinusoidal endothelial space. EPC-marker-positive cells made up about 3.31% of the corpus cavernosum of normal rat by FACS analysis. As shown by confocal microscopy, CD34 + /Flk-1 + and CD34 + /VE-cadherin + positive cells existed in the corpus cavernosum. Our findings imply that regulation of corpus cavernosal EPCs may be a new therapeutic strategy in the treatment of erectile dysfunction.