Objective: To explore the regulatory effect of salidroside on H2O2-induced decrease in the expression of the connexin43 (Cx43) protein in corpus cavernosum smooth muscle cells (CCSMC).
Methods: Rat CCSMCs were isolated, primarily cultured in vitro and identified by immunocytochemical assay. The optimum concentration of H2O2 for intervention was determined by detecting its effect on the viability of the CCSMCs and used in the treatment of the CCSMCs for different lengths of time, and meanwhile salidroside was applied at 16 μg/ml (low dose) or 64 μg/ml (high dose) for intervention. Finally, the expressions of the Cx43 protein in the CCSMCs of different groups of rats were determined by Western blot.
Results: The CCSMCs grew normally, with a positive rate of over 90%. At 1, 2 and 4 hours of treatment with H2O2 at the optimum concentration of 200 μmol/L, the expression of Cx43 in the CCSMCs was significantly decreased as compared with that in the blank control group (P < 0.01), even more significantly at 4 hours than at 1 and 2 (P < 0.01). Intervention with high-dose salidroside, however, markedly inhibited the down-regulation of the Cx43 expression (P < 0.05), which showed no statistically significant difference from that in the normal control group (P = 0.322 2).
Conclusions: Salidroside can suppress H2O2-induced decrease in the expression of the Cx43 protein in rat CCSMCs.
Keywords: connexin 43; corpus cavernosum smooth muscle cell; erectile dysfunction; rat; salidroside; oxidative stress.