Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common complication in men suffered with diabetic mellitus. Stem cell transplantation is a promising strategy for the treatment of diabetic ED (DED). In this study, we evaluated whether combined transplantation of adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ADSCs) and endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) could improve the erectile function of the DED rat model. DED rats were induced via intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (50 mg/kg), and ED was screened by apomorphine (100 mg/kg). DED rats were divided into 4 groups ( each): DED, ADSC, EPC, and ADSC/EPC group. Another 14 age-matched male SD rats with normal erectile function were served as the normal group. The normal group and the DED group were received intracavernous injection with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). And the other groups were received intracavernous injection with ADSCs (), EPCs (), and ADSCs/EPCs (/), respectively. The total intracavernous pressure (ICP) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were recorded at day 28 after injection. The endothelium, smooth muscle, and penile dorsal nerves were assessed within cavernoursal tissue. On day 28 after injection, the ADSC/EPC group displayed more significantly enhanced ICP and ICP/MAP than the DED or ADSC or EPC group (). Immunofluorescent analysis and western blot demonstrated that the improvement of erectile function in the ADSC/EPC5 group was associated with increased expression of endothelial marker (CD31) and the correction of eNOS-cGMP-NO signaling. More 5-ethynyl-2-deoxyuridine- (EdU-) positive EPCs could be found lining in the cavernous endothelial layer in the ADSC/EPC group than the EPC group, which was attributed to the paracrine of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and stromal-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) by ADSCs. Combined transplantation of ADSCs and EPCs has a synergic effect in repairing the endothelial function of DED rats, and the underlying mechanism might be the paracrine of VEGF and SDF-1 by ADSCs, which improves the recruitment and proliferation of EPCs in the cavernosum.

中文翻译：

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脂肪组织干细胞和内皮祖细胞的联合移植可改善大鼠模型中的糖尿病勃起功能障碍。

勃起功能障碍（ED）是患有糖尿病的男性的常见并发症。干细胞移植是一种治疗糖尿病性ED（DED）的有前途的策略。在这项研究中，我们评估了脂肪组织干细胞（ADSC）和内皮祖细胞（EPC）的联合移植能否改善DED大鼠模型的勃起功能。通过腹膜内注射链脲佐菌素（50 mg / kg）诱导DED大鼠，并用阿扑吗啡（100 mg / kg）筛选ED。DED大鼠分为4组（每个）：DED，ADSC，EPC和ADSC / EPC组。另设14只年龄正常的勃起功能正常的雄性SD大鼠作为正常组。正常组和DED组进行海绵内注射磷酸盐缓冲液（PBS）。其他组则接受海绵体内注射ADSCs（）， EPC（）和ADSC / EPC（/）。注射后第28天记录总海绵体内压（ICP）和平均动脉压（MAP）。在海绵体组织内评估内皮，平滑肌和阴茎背神经。注射后第28天，ADSC / EPC组显示出比DED或ADSC或EPC组更显着的ICP和ICP / MAP增强（）。免疫荧光分析和免疫印迹表明，ADSC / EPC5组勃起功能的改善与内皮标志物（CD31）表达的增加和eNOS-cGMP-NO信号的校正有关。更5-乙炔基-2- - deoxyuridine-（EdU-）阳性的EPCs可能比EPC组，这归因于血管内皮生长因子的旁分泌（VEGF）和ADSC / EPC组中找到在衬海绵体内皮细胞层ADSCs的基质衍生因子1（SDF-1）。ADSCs和EPCs的联合移植具有修复DED大鼠内皮功能的协同作用，其潜在机制可能是ADSCs对VEGF和SDF-1的旁分泌，从而改善了海绵体中EPCs的募集和增殖。