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Updated: Mar 30, 2026
Isolation of Adipose Derived Regenerative Cells for the Treatment of Erectile Dysfunction Following Radical Prostatectomy
Published on: December 28, 2021
Combination Therapy Using Human Adipose-derived Stem Cells on the Cavernous Nerve and Low-energy Shockwaves on the
Seung Hwan Jeon1, Kshitiz Raj Shrestha1, Richard Y Kim1
1Department of Urology, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Objective:
To investigate combined therapeutic efficacy of human adipose-derived stem cells (h-ADSCs) application on injured cavernous nerve and low-energy shockwave therapy (SWT) on the corpus cavernosum in a rat model of post-prostatectomy erectile dysfunction.
Materials And Methods:
Rats were randomly divided into 5 groups: control, bilateral cavernous nerve injury (BCNI), adipose-derived stem cell (ADSC) (BCNI group with h-ADSCs on the cavernous nerve), SWT (BCNI group with low-energy SWT on the corpus cavernosum), and ADSC/SWT (BCNI group with a combination of h-ADSCs and low-energy SWT). After 4 weeks, erectile function was assessed using intracavernosal pressure. The cavernous nerves and penile tissue were evaluated through immunostaining, Western blotting, and a cyclic guanosine monophosphate assay.
Results:
ADSC/SWT significantly improved intracavernosal pressure compared to the other experimental group. ADSC had significantly increased β-III tubulin expression of the cavernous nerve, and SWT had a markedly enhanced vascular endothelial growth factor expression in corpus cavernosum. The ADSC/SWT group had a significantly increased in alpha smooth muscle actin content (P < .05), neural nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) of the dorsal penile nerve (P < .05), endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) protein expression (P < .05), and cyclic guanosine monophosphate level (P < .05) compared to the ADSC or SWT alone group. In addition, ADSC/SWT reduces the apoptotic index in the corpus cavernosum.
Conclusion:
In this study, h-ADSCs showed an effect on the recovery of injured cavernous nerve and low-energy SWT improved angiogenesis in the corpus cavernosum. The h-ADSCs combined with low-energy SWT showed beneficial effect on the recovery of erectile function in a rat model of postprostatectomy erectile dysfunction.
