Erectile dysfunction in men with high-normal blood pressure / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) in men with high-normal blood pressure (HNBP).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>This study included 120 men with HNBP and another 120 with normal blood pressure (NBP) as controls. We analyzed the scores of the two groups on the International Index of Erectile Dysfunction 5 (IIEF-5).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The ED prevalence in the men with HNBP was 25.8%. After controlling for age, nationality, occupation, education, income, smoking, alcohol consumption, exercise, obesity, fatty liver, blood lipids, blood glucose, and blood uric acid, the incidence of ED was 25.8% in the HNBP group, significantly higher than 14.2% in the NBP group (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The prevalence of ED is higher in men with HNBP than in those with NBP.</p>

Inhibition of hyperplasia of vascular smooth muscle cells in rat by the plasmid containing the short hairpin RNA of angiotensin II type 1 receptor / 中华外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>RNA interference is a new technology that inhibit effectively the expression the specific genes. The current study was designed to investigate whether the plasmid containing the short hairpin RNA (shRNA) of angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT(1)R) can inhibit the hyperplasia of vascular smooth muscle cells in rat.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The plasmids containing the shRNA of AT(1)R were constructed, and transfected vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) to detect the effect on the AT(1)R expression by RT-PCR and Western blot, observe the shape of VSMCs by the inverted phase contrast microscope, and detect the hyperplasia of VSMCs by trypan blues staining and MTT.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The plasmids was certified to be in the right rank. After transfecting cells, there was significant difference (P < 0.01) in the expression of AT(1)R mRNA between the plasmid transfected group (pAT(1)R-shRNA(1) 1.37 +/- 0.15; pAT(1)R-shRNA(2) 1.45 +/- 0.12) and the control group (2.09 +/- 0.26), and there was significant difference (P < 0.01) in the expression of AT(1)R protein between the gene transfected group (pAT(1)R-shRNA1 1.12 +/- 0.04; pAT(1)R-shRNA2 1.20 +/- 0.07) and the control group (3.17 +/- 0.21). It is shown that pAT(1)R-shRNA can decrease the expression of AT(1)R mRNA and protein. There was significant difference (P < 0.01) in the Cell number between the plasmid transfected adding AngII group (pAT(1)R-shRNA1 5.48 +/- 0.44; pAT(1)R-shRNA2 5.55 +/- 0.45) and the AngII control group (8.13 +/- 0.41); there was significant difference (P < 0.01) in the Ratio of light density by MTT between the plasmid transfected adding AngII group (pAT(1)R-shRNA1 0.365 +/- 0.024; pAT(1)R-shRNA2 0.307 +/- 0.025) and the control group (0.485 +/- 0.011); It is shown that that pAT(1)R-shRNA can inhibit the hyperplasia of VSMCs, and matching the result of morphology observation.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The plasmids containing the shRNA of AT(1)R can inhibit the expression of AT(1)R mRNA and protein in VSMCs, and inhibit the hyperplasia of VSMCs induced by AngII in rat.</p>