Superoxide dismutase - a target for gene therapeutic approach to reduce oxidative stress in erectile dysfunction

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is defined as the inability to attain and/or maintain penile erection sufficient for satisfactory sexual performance. Oxidative stress has been demonstrated to be involved in the pathophysiology of age- or diabetes-related ED. Superoxide dismutase (SOD), an antioxidant enzyme catalyzing the conversion of superoxide anion (O(2) (-)) to hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) and molecular oxygen (O(2)), is a promising therapeutic target for ED. In vivo gene therapy and adult stem cell-based ex vivo gene therapy are two attractive current gene therapies for the treatment of ED. In this chapter we describe the use of two potent gene transfer techniques to deliver the therapeutic gene extracellular superoxide dismutase (ecSOD) into the penis of aged or diabetic rats for therapy of ED: adenoviral-mediated intracavernosal ecSOD gene transfer for gene therapy of ED and ecSOD gene-modified marrow stromal cells, also known as mesenchymal stem cells, based stem cell and gene therapy.