Evaluation of vascular smooth muscle and corpus cavernosum on hypercholesterolemia. Is resveratrol promising on erectile dysfunction?

Abstract

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of hypercholesterolemia in thoracic aorta (TA), mesenteric artery (MA), renal artery (RA), and corpus cavernosum (CC) isolated from cholesterolfed rabbits. For determination of the maximum detrimental effect, vasorelaxation and vasoconstriction results of arteries and CC have been compared. Animals were fed with a diet that contained 2% w/w cholesterol and 2% w/w high cholesterol plus resveratrol (4 mg kg -1 per day) for 6-week duration. Total cholesterol levels in the plasma were measured. Vascular and endothelial functions in RA, TA, MA, and CC were assessed by isolated tissue bath with cumulative doses of acetylcholine and sodium nitroprusside. The statistical significance of differences of groups was analyzed by means of one-way ANOVA or Student's t-test. P-values o0.05 were considered significant. There have been no significant changes on plasma total cholesterol levels between cholesterol and cholesterol þ resveratrol-treated groups. Vasorelaxation responses to acetylcholine in resveratroltreated group showed significant changes when compared with hypercholesterolemic group. No statistically significant differences were seen between non-receptor-mediated vasorelaxation responses between the three groups. Resveratrol might be an effective treatment in the prevention of atherosclerotic changes in arteries and CC. The initial effects of hypercholesterolemia on erectile dysfunction and endothelial dysfunction may be precluded with resveratrol. This protective effect may also ensure the prevention of coronary arterial diseases and renovascular diseases in hypercholesterolemic patients.

Resveratrol Stimulates Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) Formation to Relax Murine Corpus Cavernosum

“…Although RVT activates eNOS and restores impaired relaxation to NO in aorta [19,28,29], in line with our studies, a recent paper also found ACh‐induced relaxation was not increased by RVT in MCC [13]. This may be due to tissue‐specific effect of RVT on eNOS activation as suggested by Muller and colleagues, since L‐NAME inhibited RVT‐induced relaxation in aorta but not in pulmonary artery [30] or due to prevailing pathological condition as RVT restores impaired ACh‐induced relaxation in hypercholesterolemic rabbit corpus cavernosum [8,11,12] or spontaneous hypertensive rat aorta [31].…”

The pharmacology of resveratrol in animals and humans

“…RSV treatment might improve erectile dysfunction induced by hypercholesterolemia, with increased vasorelaxation responses to acetylcholine in the corpus cavernosum isolated from cholesterol-fed male rabbits [339]. However, it may be necessary to be cautious about intake RSV during pregnancy.…”

Effects of resveratrol on the alterations of cavernosal eNOS and LOX-1 expression in the hypercholesterolemic condition: a preliminary study

“…We demonstrated that a 2% high cholesterol diet for 6 weeks significantly impaired cavernosal relaxation responses. Endothelium-dependent relaxation responses induced by acetylcholine were significantly higher in the control and resveratrol groups when compared with the hypercholesterolemia group in that study (15). In this preliminary study, we evaluated cavernosal eNOS expression in three groups with the same experimental model and determined that mean eNOS expression levels in the resveratrol and control groups were significantly higher than that in the hypercholesterolemia group.…”

“…The rabbits in the hypercholesterolemia and resveratrol groups were fed with a 2% (w/w) hypercholesterolemic diet and drinking water for 6 weeks. Resveratrol (Sigma Aldrich) at a daily dosage of 4 mg/kg was also administered via drinking water for the resveratrol group (15,18). All rabbits were weighed at the beginning and the end of the study.…”

“…Resveratrol augments NO bioavailability by some mechanisms, one of which is the increased expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) in myocardium and vascular endothelial cells (12)(13)(14). Resveratrol significantly improved erectile functions and demonstrated relaxant effects on cavernosal tissues in hypercholesterolemic and diabetic animal models (15)(16)(17). This preliminary study explores the effects of resveratrol on cavernosal eNOS and LOX-1 expression in hypercholesterolemic rabbits.…”