Ultrastructural changes of penile tunica albuginea in diabetic rats

To clarify the ultrastructural changes of penile tunica albuginea (TA) in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats.

Intraperitoneal injection of STZ was used to induce diabetes mellitus (DM) in 12 Sprague Dawley rats. Ten rats (age and weight-matched) were used as control. Blood samples from the tail snips of the rats were used for the determination of serum glucose levels with SureStep Plus Blood Meter. At week 4 and 10 after the injection, half of the rats in each group were sacrificed and penile samples were obtained from the middle third of the penile shaft for the examination of TA under scanning electron microscopy.

In the diabetic group, the serum glucose levels were higher (P<0.01 at both time points) and the TA were thinner (P<0.05) than those of the controls. In the control group, the fibers of TA were rich and arranged regularly and undulated, while in the diabetic group, the fibers were diminished, lost the undulations and were arranged irregularly.

In rats, DM appeared to impair the penile TA ultrastructures and this impairment could contribute to diabetic erectile dysfunction in part by impairing the veno-occlusive function.