Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Sep 7;35(8):e202000805.
doi: 10.1590/s0102-865020200080000005.

Chronic alcoholism associated with diabetes induced apoptosis in the corpus cavernosum of rats

Bruno Cesar Schimming  1 , Mucio Luiz de Assis Cirino  2 , Fermino Sanches Lizarte Neto  3 , Paulo Cezar Novais  4 , Camila Albuquerque Melo de Carvalho  5 , Daniela Pretti da Cunha Tirapelli  6 , Carlos Augusto Fernandes Molina  6 , Luis Fernando Tirapelli  7 , Silvio Tucci Junior  8
Affiliations

Chronic alcoholism associated with diabetes induced apoptosis in the corpus cavernosum of rats

Bruno Cesar Schimming et al. Acta Cir Bras. .

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of alcohol exposure and diabetes on apoptotic process in the corpus cavernosum.

Methods: Forty eight male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: control, diabetic, alcoholic and diabetic-alcoholic. Samples of the corpus cavernosum were prepared to study protein expression of apoptotic genes (Caspases-3 and 9) by immunohistochemistry and Real-Time PCR.

Results: The immunoreactivity of Caspases-3 and -9 was diffuse and higher in the treated groups though there was no significant difference between the experimental groups, only when compared with the control group. An increase was observed in the gene expression of Caspases-9 in the diabetic and ethanol-diabetic groups when compared with control and ethanol groups.

Conclusions: The association of these factors (ethanol and diabetes) probably can affect the apoptosis mechanism in lesions of the cavernous tissue in the rat penis. Both gene and protein expression of Caspase-9 in diabetic and ethanol-diabetic groups suggest the involvement of the apoptosis cascade from this study model.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: none

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Photomicrograph showing the expression of caspase 3 in the corpus cavernosum of control (A), diabetic (B), alcoholic (C) and more diabetic-alcoholic (D) groups. Positive labeling for this protein on cell nuclei (arrows). Cavernous space (ec). x400
Figure 2
Figure 2. Photomicrograph showing caspase 9 expression in the corpus cavernosum of control (A), diabetic (B), alcoholic (C) and more diabetic-alcoholic (D) groups. Positive labeling for this protein on cell nuclei (arrows). Cavernous space (ec). x400
Figure 3
Figure 3. Representation of the average caspase 3 gene expression in groups C, A, D and DA (Kruskal-Willis, p=0.8063).
Figure 4
Figure 4. Representation of the average caspase 9 gene expression in groups C, A, D and DA (Kruskal-Willis, p=0.0184).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Kouidrat Y, Pizzol D, Cosco T, Thompson T, Carnaghi M, Bertoldo A, Solmi M, Stubbs B, Veronese N. High prevalence of erectile dysfunction in diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 145 studies. Diabet Med. 2017;34(9):1185–1192. doi: 10.1111/dme.13403. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Vinay J, Sarquella J, Sanchez J, Algaba F, Gallegos I, Ruiz-Castañe E, Palma C. Adipocyte accumulation in corpus cavernosum: first clinical evidence and pathophysiological implications in erectile dysfunction. Actas Urol Esp. 2017;41(2):97–102. doi: 10.1016/j.acuro.2016.05.007. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Gandhi J, Dagur G, Warren K, Smith NL, Sheynkin YR, Zumbo A, Khan SA. The role of Diabetes Mellitus in sexual and reproductive health: an overview of pathogenesis, evaluation, and management. Curr Diabetes Rev. 2017;13(6):573–581. doi: 10.2174/1573399813666161122124017. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Fujimaki S, Kuwabara T. Diabetes-induced dysfunction of mitochondria and stem cells in skeletal muscle and the nervous system. Int J Mol Sci. 2017;18(10) doi: 10.3390/ijms18102147. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Demain LA, Conway GS, Newman WG. Genetics of mitochondrial dysfunction and infertility. Clin Genet. 2017;91(2):199–207. doi: 10.1111/cge.12896. - DOI - PubMed