Transplantation KCNMA 1 modified bone marrow‐mesenchymal stem cell therapy for diabetes mellitus‐induced erectile dysfunction

Summary This study assessed the effect of KCNMA1 transfected bone marrow‐mesenchymal stem cells ( BM ‐ MSC s) on the improvement of erectile function in diabetic rats. Sixty male S prague– D awley rats were injected with streptozotocin ( STZ ) and screened with apomorphine ( APO ) to establish diabetes mellitus‐induced erectile dysfunction ( DMED ). DMED rats were randomly divided into four groups: rats in each group underwent intracavernous injection with either phosphate buffer solution ( DMED + PBS ), nontransfected MSC s ( DMED + MSC s), empty vector transfected MSC s ( DMED +null‐ MSC s) or KCNMA1 transfected MSC s ( DMED + KCNMA 1‐ MSC s). Before injection, high levels of KCNMA1 expression were confirmed in KCNMA 1‐ MSC s using RT ‐ PCR and Western blotting. The lentivirus transfected MSC s maintained their potential for multidirectional differentiation. Four weeks after injection, erectile function was ascertained by measuring intracavernous pressure ( ICP ). Penile tissues were collected for immunohistochemical analysis. The expression of KCNMA 1 in the corpus cavernosum was increased, and the DMED + KCNMA 1‐ MSC s group displayed a significant improvement of erectile function. We concluded that KCNMA1 was able to enhance the positive effect of MSC s in the treatment of diabetes‐associated erectile dysfunction.