Extract

Objective

Adequate antioxidant response is essential for tissue homeostasis and function. However, systems responsible for antioxidant response are down-regulated in some pathological situations and aging. This is the case for Nrf2 that orchestrates cellular response to oxidative stress. The aim was to evaluate pharmacological activation of Nrf2 on the impairment of endothelial relaxation and reactive oxygen species-induced responses in corpus cavernosum (CC) from aged rats and in CC and penile arteries from patients with erectile dysfunction (ED).

Methods

Endothelium-dependent relaxations to carbachol and responses to H2O2 were evaluated in CC from 3-months (young) and 20-months (aged) old rats in the absence or the presence of the Nrf2-activators, sulforaphane (10 μM) and oltipraz (30 μM). Upregulation of Nrf2 was assessed by ELISA. The effects of these Nrf2-activators were also evaluated on endothelial relaxation and H2O2-induced responses in human corpus cavernosum (HCC) and penile resistance arteries (HPRA) obtained from patients undergoing penile prosthesis implantation.

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