Involvement of DDAH/ADMA/NOS/cGMP and COX-2/PTGIS/cAMP Pathways in Human Tissue Kallikrein 1 Protecting Erectile Function in Aged Rats

PLoS One. 2017 Jan 19;12(1):e0170427. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0170427. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

Our previous studies had reported that Human Tissue Kallikrein 1 (hKLK1) preserved erectile function in aged transgenic rats, while the detailed mechanism of hKLK1 protecting erectile function in aged rats through activation of cGMP and cAMP was not mentioned. To explore the latent mechanism, male wild-type Sprague-Dawley rats (WTR) and transgenic rats harboring the hKLK1 gene (TGR) were fed to 4 and 18 months old and divided into four groups: young WTR (yWTR) as the control, aged WTR (aWTR), aged TGR (aTGR) and aged TGRs with HOE140 (aTGRH). Erectile function of all rats was evaluated by cavernous nerve electrostimulation method and measured by the ratio of intracavernous pressure/ mean arterial pressure (ICP/MAP) in rats. Expression levels of cAMP and cGMP were assessed, and related signaling pathways were detected by western blot, immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR. Our experiment results showed erectile function of the aWTR group and aTGRH group was lower compared with those of other two groups. Also, expression levels of cAMP and cGMP were significantly lower than those of other two groups. Moreover, expressions of related signaling pathways including DDAH/ADMA/NOS/cGMP and COX-2/PTGIS/cAMP were also downregulated in the corpus cavernosum of rats in aWTR group. Our finding revealed hKLK1 played a protective role in age-related ED. The DDAH/ADMA/NOS/cGMP and COX-2/PTGIS/cAMP pathways that were linked to the mechanism hKLK1 could increase the levels of cGMP and cAMP, which might provide novel therapy targets for age-related ED.

MeSH terms

  • Aging / genetics
  • Aging / physiology*
  • Amidohydrolases / metabolism
  • Animals
  • Arginine / analogs & derivatives
  • Arginine / metabolism
  • Cyclic AMP / metabolism
  • Cyclic GMP / metabolism
  • Cyclooxygenase 2 / genetics
  • Cyclooxygenase 2 / metabolism
  • Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System / genetics
  • Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System / metabolism
  • Erectile Dysfunction / genetics
  • Erectile Dysfunction / metabolism
  • Erectile Dysfunction / physiopathology
  • Humans
  • Intramolecular Oxidoreductases / genetics
  • Intramolecular Oxidoreductases / metabolism
  • Male
  • Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I / genetics
  • Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I / metabolism
  • Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III / genetics
  • Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III / metabolism
  • Penile Erection / genetics
  • Penile Erection / physiology*
  • Penis / metabolism
  • RNA, Messenger / genetics
  • RNA, Messenger / metabolism
  • Rats
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Rats, Transgenic
  • Recombinant Proteins / genetics
  • Recombinant Proteins / metabolism
  • Signal Transduction
  • Tissue Kallikreins / genetics
  • Tissue Kallikreins / physiology*

Substances

  • RNA, Messenger
  • Recombinant Proteins
  • N,N-dimethylarginine
  • Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System
  • Arginine
  • Cyclic AMP
  • Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I
  • Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III
  • Nos1 protein, mouse
  • Nos3 protein, mouse
  • Cyclooxygenase 2
  • Ptgs2 protein, rat
  • Tissue Kallikreins
  • Amidohydrolases
  • dimethylargininase
  • Intramolecular Oxidoreductases
  • prostacyclin synthetase
  • Cyclic GMP

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the grant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC #81270690).