Abstract
This study was aimed to examine relaxing effects of Acanthopanacis cortex(AC) through nitric oxide(NO) production and phosphodiesterase type 5(PDE-5) inhibition in corpus cavernosum. In order to define the relaxation effects of AC extract, rabbit corpus cavernous tissues were prepared in 2×2×8 ㎜ sized strip. AC extract (0.01-3.0 ㎎/㎖) were treated in contracted strips induced by phenylephrine(PE) and Nω-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA) was treated before AC extract-treated. And calcium chloride(CaSUP2+/SUP) 1 mM was infused into precontracted strips after pretreatment of AC extract in CaSUP2+/SUP-free krebs-ringer solution. When AC extract was applied to human umbilical vein endothelial cell(HUVEC), cell viability was measured by MTT assay, and NO concentration was measured by Griess reagent system. Ratio of smooth muscles to collagen fibers and eNOS, PDE-5 positive reaction were measured by histochemical and immunohistochemical process on mice corpus cavernosum. AC extract significantly affected relaxion of the cavernous strips, and the pretreatment of L-NNA inhibited AC extract-induced relaxation. Contraction induced by the addition of CaSUP2+/SUP was inhibited by treatment with the AC extract in CaSUP2+/SUP-free solution. In AC group, NO concentration, ratio of smooth muscle to collagen fibers, and eNOS positive reaction were increased, PDE-5 positive reaction was decreased compared to PE group. As a result of the above experiment, it was thought that AC extract inhibits the inflow of extracellular CaSUP2+/SUP by activating cGMP through the increase of eNOS / NO and the decrease of PDE-5 which inhibits cGMP activity, in the corpus cavernosum.
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