Serum adropin as a predictive biomarker of erectile dysfunction in coronary artery disease patients

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is associated with various comorbidities and an early diagnosis and treatment is necessary to avoid the development of these comorbidities. Unfortunately, there is no biochemical marker that can be used for early diagnosis of ED. Nitric oxide (NO) is released by nerve and endothelial cells in the corpora cavernosa of the penis and is believed to be the main vasoactive chemical mediator of penile erection. Adropin is a regulatory peptide which has effects on NO bioavailability and energy homeostasis. We hypothesized that adropin may contribute to the pathogenesis of ED because of the presence of both metabolic effects and the influence on NO bioavailability. To confirm this hypothesis, we investigated the relationship between ED and serum adropin and NO levels.

Seventy-five ED patients were enrolled for this study and the patients were divided into two groups according to angiographic scoring. Serum NO and adropin levels were measured by the Griess reaction and ELISA method, respectively.

Serum adropin and NO levels were found to be lower in the group which has higher angiographic score and the difference in NO was statistically significant. Also, adropin has a significant correlation between IIEF scores in ED patients.

This is the first study in the literature investigating the levels of adropin in ED patients having coronary artery disease. The adropin molecule shows a promising future in clarifying the etiopathogenesis of ED. More comprehensive and multicenter studies are needed to reveal the role of adropin in ED and the effects of treatment on this molecule.