Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 23, 2026
Intracavernosal Pressure Recording to Evaluate Erectile Function in Rodents
Published on: June 6, 2018
Intracavernosal injection of vascular endothelial growth factor improves erectile function in aged rats
Kwangsung Park1, Kyu Youn Ahn, Min-Kyung Kim
1Department of Urology, Chonnam National University Medical School, 8 Hakdong, Donggu, Gwangju 501-757, Republic of Korea. kpark@chonnam.ac.kr
Objectives:
To investigate whether intracavernosal injection of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) can restore erectile function in the aging rat.
Materials And Methods:
Ten young (4-5 months) and 30 old (24 months) Sprague-Dawley male rats were used. The old rats were divided into 3 groups: vehicle-only (phosphate buffered saline plus 0.1% bovine serum albumin; n = 10), VEGF 1 microg/kg (n = 10), and VEGF 10 microg/kg (n = 10). At 2 and 4 weeks after treatment, erectile function and histology were evaluated by hemodynamic study, histomorphometric analysis, and immunohistochemistry.
Results:
After 4 weeks of treatment, the ratio of peak intracavernosal pressure to systemic arterial blood pressure in response to neurostimulation was significantly higher in both the VEGF 1 microg/kg (79.9 +/- 7.7%) and the VEGF 10 microg/kg group (76.8 +/- 5.8%) compared to the vehicle-only group (63.1 +/- 8.5%; p < 0.05). The percentage of cavernosal smooth muscle was significantly higher in the VEGF 10 microg/kg group (16.1 +/- 1.4%) compared to the vehicle-only group (12.8 +/- 2.2%; p = 0.047). VEGF treatment in old rats increased e-NOS and VEGF expression in both treatment groups.
Conclusion:
Intracavernosal injection of VEGF appears to restore smooth muscle integrity and improve erectile function in aged rats.
