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A standardized procedure for using human corpus cavernosum strips to evaluate drug activity
V Mirone1, R Sorrentino, R di Villa Bianca
1Dipartimento di Urologia, Facoltà di Medicina, Via Pansini 15, Università di Napoli Federico II, 80131, Napoli, Italy.
Journal of Pharmacological and Toxicological Methods
|June 8, 2001
Summary
Gender reassignment surgery provides a reliable source of human corpus cavernosum (HCC) tissue for bioassays. Standardized HCC strips remain functional for up to four days, enabling drug activity evaluation.
Area of Science:
- Urology
- Pharmacology
- Tissue Engineering
Background:
- Limited availability and heterogeneity of human corpus cavernosum (HCC) tissue pose challenges for bioassays.
- Ethical considerations often restrict the use of human tissues in research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish a standardized and ethically viable method for obtaining and preparing human corpus cavernosum (HCC) tissue for bioassays.
- To assess the functional viability of HCC tissue for drug testing and pathophysiological studies.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing HCC tissue obtained from gender reassignment surgeries.
- Developing a standardized procedure for preparing HCC tissue strips.
- Assessing tissue contractility and relaxation responses to various pharmacological agents (PE, AG II, KCl, acetylcholine, sodium nitroprusside, cromakalim, alprostadil) over time.
Main Results:
- Gender reassignment surgery offers a consistent and ethically sound source of human corpus cavernosum (HCC) tissue.
- Prepared HCC strips maintain their contractile function for up to 4 days when stored under specified conditions.
- HCC tissue exhibits reliable contractile responses to phenylephrine, angiotensin II, and KCl, and relaxation to acetylcholine, sodium nitroprusside, cromakalim, and alprostadil.
Conclusions:
- A standardized procedure for preparing and preserving human corpus cavernosum (HCC) strips from gender reassignment surgery has been established.
- This method provides a reliable, functional human tissue model for evaluating drug activity and investigating pathophysiological mechanisms for up to 4 days post-collection.