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Role of the nitric oxide-cyclic GMP pathway in regulation of vaginal blood flow

International Journal of Impotence Research volume 15, pages 355–361 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

The regulatory role of nitric oxide (NO) in vaginal perfusion remains unclear. We used specific inhibitors of enzymes in the NO-cyclic GMP (NO-cGMP) pathway and investigated their effects on vaginal blood flow in the rabbit. NO synthase (NOS) activity was similar in both the proximal and distal rabbit vagina; whereas, arginase activity was 3.4-fold higher in the distal vagina. Intravenous administration of the NOS inhibitor L-NAME resulted in a 66% reduction in genital tissue oxyhemoglobin and a 53% reduction in vaginal blood flow. This attenuation occurred despite a 20–30% increase in systemic arterial pressure. The arginase inhibitor ABH caused a 2.1-fold increase in genital tissue oxyhemoglobin and 34% increase in vaginal blood flow. The guanylate cyclase inhibitor 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3,-a]quinoxalin-1-one and the phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor sildenafil caused in a 37% reduction and a 44% increase in vaginal blood flow, respectively. These observations suggest that the NO-cGMP pathway is an important regulator of vaginal hemodynamics.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Grants R01-DK 56846 and K01-DK02696 from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. We thank Drs David W Christianson and Hyunshun Shin (Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania) for synthesizing and providing the arginase inhibitor ABH and Jerie McGrath-Cerqua for her administrative assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

    S W Kim

  2. Department of Urology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    S-J Jeong, R Munarriz, N N Kim, I Goldstein & A M Traish

  3. Department of Biochemistry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    A M Traish

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  1. S W Kim
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  2. S-J Jeong
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  3. R Munarriz
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  4. N N Kim
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  6. A M Traish
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Correspondence to A M Traish.

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Kim, S., Jeong, SJ., Munarriz, R. et al. Role of the nitric oxide-cyclic GMP pathway in regulation of vaginal blood flow. Int J Impot Res 15, 355–361 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijir.3901038

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