Establishment of an animal model of blunt scrotal trauma and evaluation of the lesion by conventional and contrast-enhanced ultrasonography / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To establish an animal model of acute blunt scrotal trauma (BST) and evaluate the types of lesion by conventional ultrasonography (CUS) and contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We made acute BST models in 21 healthy male New Zealand rabbits by striking 3 - 12 times the unilateral testes randomly selected with a 0. 5 kg iron ball falling freely from a 30 cm height. Then we evaluated the lesion types in the models by CUS and CEUS and verified our evaluation against pathological results.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Acute BST models were successfully established in all the 21 animals, including contusion in 10, hematoma in 6, and rupture in 5, all confirmed by pathology. CUS clearly manifested the morphology, internal echoes, and blood flow of the testes, but had a low rate of accurate diagnosis in testicular contusion for over 6 hours as well as in complex lesions. CEUS revealed an earlier perfusion of the contrast agent and shorter arriving time (AT) and time to peak intensity ( TP) in testicular contusion than in the control testes (P <0.05) , but showed no statistically significant difference between the two groups in the half time of descending peak intensity (P>0.05). For testicular hematoma, contrast agent clearly presented its outline and a delayed low enhancement in the surrounding tissue, with significant differences from the control in AT and TTP. In severe testis rupture, occasional outflow but no perfusion of contrast agent was observed.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>BST models can be established in rabbits by repeated strikes of the unilateral testes lesion of contrast agent was observed. with a freely falling iron ball. Simple contusion injury can be induced by less than 6 strikes, while complex injuries can be inflicted by more than 10. Combined application of CUS and CEUS can improve the accuracy of diagnosis of different types of lesion.</p>

Contrast-enhanced ultrasonography for detecting testicular perfusion in acute testis contusion in rabbits / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) in detecting testicular perfusion in acute testis contusion.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We established the model of testis contusion in 11 healthy male New Zealand rabbits by randomly hitting one side of the scrotum under general anesthesia. We examined the bilateral scrotums of all the animals before, immediately after and at 2, 4 and 6 hours after modeling by color Doppler flow imaging (CDFI) and CEUS, and analyzed the time-intensity curve (TIC), arriving time (AT), time to peak intensity (TTP), peak intensity (PI), half time of descending peak intensity (HT) and area under the curve (AUC) in the healthy and injured testis, respectively.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>CEUS exhibited a higher sensitivity in detecting tissue perfusion than CDFI. The mode of contrast agent perfusion in testicular contusion was fast in and slow out. There were no evident differences between the contused and the healthy testis in AT, TTP and PI before modeling. The contused testis showed significantly earlier AT and TTP, higher PI and larger AUC (P < 0.05) than the healthy one at different time points after modeling, but no statistically significant difference was found in HT (P > 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Accurate parameters of testicular perfusion in acute testis contusion can be quantitatively obtained by CEUS, which are of important value for the diagnosis of testis contusion.</p>

Relationship between RhoA/Rho-kinase signaling pathway and penile erection / 中华男科学杂志

Erectile dysfunction (ED) has been plaguing men for a long time and the incidence of this disease is as high as 52% among males aged between 40 and 70. Recent discovery has shown a connection between the RhoA/Rho-kinase signaling system and ED. This paper reviews the progress in the study of RhoA/Rho-kinase signaling pathway, expounds its mechanism in penile erection and provides a base for further research on the role of RhoA/Rho-kinase signaling pathway in penile erection.

Expression of Rho-kinase and heme oxygenase in the corpus cavernosum of spontaneous hypertensive rats / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the expression of Rho-kinase and heme oxygenase and the interaction among NOS/NO, HO/CO and RhoA/Rho-kinase in the corpus cavernosum of spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHRs).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A series of electric stimuli were applied to the corpus cavernosum nerves of 7 SHRs, the changes of ICP/MAP observed continuously and the expressions of ROCK2, HO-2 and eNOS analyzed by Western blot and immunohistochemistry. Another 7 WKY rats were taken as controls.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the controls, ICP/MAP did not rise obviously (P < 0.05), HO-2 dropped sharply (P = 0.006) and the expression of the ROCK2 protein was elevated markedly (P = 0.017) in the SHRs. Immunohistochemistry showed HO-2 to be distributed in the smooth muscle cells and nervous cells of the corpus cavernosum, and eNOS mainly in the vascular endothelial cells. The expressions of HO-2 and eNOS were obviously reduced in the SHRs.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>NOS/NO, HO/CO and RhoA/Rho-kinase are related with erectile dysfunction in SHRs and may interact on one another.</p>

Expression of heme oxygenase 2 in the corpus cavernosum of castrated rats / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To determine the expressions of HO-2 and eNOS in the corpus cavernosum of castrated rats and investigate the correlation of HO-2 and eNOS with erectile dysfunction.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty SD rats of 10 weeks were equally divided into 3 castrated groups (4, 8 and 12 weeks respectively after removal of bilateral testes) and a sham operation control group. All the rats were detected for serum testosterone (T), intracavernosal pressure (ICP) and mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) 2, 8 and 12 weeks after the surgery, the content of HO-2 analyzed by Western blot and the expressions of eNOS and HO-2 determined by immunohistochemistry.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Testosterone level and ICP/MAP ratio were markedly decreased after the castration (P < 0.05). The HO-2 expression was detected in the corpus cavernosum of all but the 12-week castrated rats, and the area under the curve was (341.50 +/- 99.70) in the 4-week castrated group, significantly less than in the 8-week (705.00 +/- 152. 74) and the control group (876 +/- 443. 36) (P < 0. 05), with no obvious difference between the latter two. eNOS was found mainly in the vascular endothelial cells of the corpus cavernosum, significantly less in the castrated (123.94 +/- 30. 23) than in the control group (421.21 +/- 125. 12).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Androgens might mediate the penile erectile function through HO-2 and eNOS in the corpus cavernosum of rats.</p>