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Updated: Oct 19, 2025
Isolation of Adipose Derived Regenerative Cells for the Treatment of Erectile Dysfunction Following Radical Prostatectomy
Published on: December 28, 2021
Ex vivo Akt inhibition reverses castration induced internal pudendal artery and penile endothelial dysfunction
Michael R Odom1, Elena S Pak2, Johanna L Hannan2
1Department of Physiology, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA; Department of Surgery, Division of Urology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
Aims:
Androgen deprivation therapy is a common prostate cancer treatment which causes men to have castrate levels of testosterone. Unfortunately, most testosterone deficient patients will suffer severe erectile dysfunction (ED) and have no effective ED treatment options. Testosterone deficiency causes endothelial dysfunction and impairs penile vasodilation necessary to maintain an erection. Recent evidence demonstrates testosterone activates androgen receptors (AR) and generates nitric oxide (NO) through the Akt-endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) pathway; however, it remains unknown how castration impacts this signaling pathway.
Materials And Methods:
In this study, we used a surgically castrated rat model to determine how castration impacts ex vivo internal pudendal artery (IPA) and penile relaxation through the Akt-eNOS pathway.
Key Findings:
Unlike systemic vasculature, castration causes significant IPA and penis endothelial dysfunction associated with a 50% AR reduction. Though testosterone and acetylcholine (ACh) both phosphorylate Akt and eNOS, castration did not affect testosterone-mediated IPA and penile Akt or eNOS phosphorylation. Surprisingly, castration increases ACh-mediated Akt and eNOS phosphorylation but reduces the eNOS dimer to monomer ratio. Akt inhibition using 10DEBC preserves IPA eNOS dimers. Functionally, 10DEBC reverses castration induced ex vivo IPA and penile endothelial dysfunction.
Significance:
These data demonstrate how castration uncouples eNOS and provide a novel strategy for improving endothelial-dependent relaxation necessary for an erection. Further studies are needed to determine if Akt inhibition may treat or even prevent ED in testosterone deficient prostate cancer survivors.
