COMP-4, a nutraceutical combination consisting of ginger rhizome, muira puama, Paullinia cupana, and L-citrulline, enhances intracellular nitric oxide (NO) production by the corporal smooth muscle cells (CSMC). This study aims to determine if the previously shown beneficial effect of COMP-4 on the histology and function of the aging penis is associated with an antioxidative effect from endogenously produced NO. Ten-month-old male rats were treated daily for 2 months with COMP-4 or vehicle at which time the corpora and penile dorsal artery (PDA) were evaluated by immunohistochemistry for (a) apoptosis (b) proliferative cell nuclear antigen, (c) heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), (d) myeloperoxidase (MPO), and (e) nitrotyrosine (NT). CSMC were cultured and incubated with COMP-4 in order to determine intracellular oxidative stress via the GSH/GSSG ratio. In both the corpora and PDA, daily treatment with COMP-4 resulted in an increase in both smooth muscle cell proliferation and HO-1 expression as well as a decrease in MPO. There was no change in either apoptosis or NT expression. In the CSMC cell culture, treatment with COMP-4 increased the intracellular GSH/GSSG ratio. COMP-4 appears to have an antioxidant effect on the aging vascular smooth muscle cells both in the corpora and peripheral vasculature.

中文翻译：

---

减少COMP-4治疗的中年大鼠海绵体和阴茎背动脉中的氧化应激标志物。

COMP-4是由姜根茎，穆拉美洲豹，Paullinia cupana和L-瓜氨酸组成的营养组合，可增强体内平滑肌细胞（CSMC）产生的细胞内一氧化氮（NO）的产生。这项研究旨在确定以前显示的COMP-4对衰老阴茎的组织学和功能的有益作用是否与内源性NO产生的抗氧化作用有关。对10个月大的雄性大鼠每天用COMP-4或媒介物治疗2个月，然后通过免疫组织化学方法评估（a）凋亡（b）增殖性细胞核抗原（c）的体和阴茎背动脉（PDA） ）血红素加氧酶-1（HO-1），（d）髓过氧化物酶（MPO）和（e）硝基酪氨酸（NT）。培养CSMC并与COMP-4一起温育以便通过GSH / GSSG比确定细胞内氧化应激。在语料库和PDA中，每天用COMP-4进行治疗都会导致平滑肌细胞增殖和HO-1表达的增加，以及MPO的减少。细胞凋亡或NT表达均无变化。在CSMC细胞培养物中，COMP-4处理可增加细胞内GSH / GSSG比率。COMP-4似乎对体和周围脉管系统中老化的血管平滑肌细胞具有抗氧化作用。