Effect of histological prostate inflammation on erectile function and its possible mechanism: a preliminary study

Objective: To investigate the effect of histological prostate inflammation on erectile function and its possible mechanism. Methods: After the induction of histological prostate inflammation in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, the erectile function, ratio of maximum intracavernosal pressure (ICP)/mean arterial pressure (MAP), enzyme activity of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) level and eNOS mRNA expression and protein levels of the corpus cavernosum were evaluated and compared between the experimental and control groups. Results: Haematoxylin-eosin staining showed a mild-to-moderate inflammation in the prostate tissue. The ICPmax/MAP × 100 was significantly decreased in the experimental group than in the control group (32.06 ± 7.21 vs. 51.96 ± 11.49, P = 0.01). The eNOS enzyme activity and cGMP level of the corpus cavernous tissue were significantly lower in the experimental group than in the control group (1.02 ± 0.40 vs. 1.97 ± 0.45 U/ mg prot, P < 0.01; 27.33 ± 7.12 vs. 43.33 ± 5.47 pmol/ml, P < 0.01, respectively). The expression levels of eNOS mRNA and eNOS protein were significantly decreased in the experimental group than in the control group. Conclusion: Histological prostate inflammation caused a severe impairment in the erectile function of SD rats, indicated by the low eNOS enzyme activity and cGMP level and the decreased expression of eNOS mRNA and eNOS protein.