Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 20, 2026
Induction of Endothelial Differentiation in Cardiac Progenitor Cells Under Low Serum Conditions
Published on: January 7, 2019
Identification of endothelial progenitor cells in the corpus cavernosum in rats
Jun Sik Lee1, In Sang Hwang2, Hyun-Suk Lee2
1Department of Biology, BK21-Plus Research Team for Bioactive Control Technology, College of Natural Sciences, Chosun University, Gwangju 501-759, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
The vascular wall resident progenitor cells seem to serve as a local reservoir of cells for vascular repair. It was hypothesized that the corpus cavernosum may contain vascular wall endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs). In this study, we investigated the identification and localization of EPCs in the corpus cavernosum in a rat model. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were used to isolate EPCs from corpora cavernosum. To verify the existence and localization of EPCs, EPC-specific markers (CD34, Flk-1, and VE-cadherin) were evaluated by flow cytometric analysis and confocal microscopy. The EPC markers were mainly expressed in the cavernosal sinusoidal endothelial space. EPC-marker-positive cells made up about 3.31% of the corpus cavernosum of normal rat by FACS analysis. As shown by confocal microscopy, CD34+/Flk-1+ and CD34+/VE-cadherin+ positive cells existed in the corpus cavernosum. Our findings imply that regulation of corpus cavernosal EPCs may be a new therapeutic strategy in the treatment of erectile dysfunction.
