Abstract
The imbalance between vasoconstrictors and vasodilators may play an important role in the pathogenesis of erectile dysfunction (ED). A total of 36 patients with ED, organogenic [diabetic (n=12) and nondiabetic (n=12)] and psychogenic (n=12) etiology, and 12 healthy adult men as controls were included. The levels of endothelin-1 (ET-1), growth hormone (GH), angiotensin-converting enzyme activity (ACE), nitric oxide (NO) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) were determined in the flaccid penis cavernosal blood of patients and in cubital blood of patients and controls. In psychogenic ED, systemic ACE activity was elevated compared to controls (P<0.05). In diabetic and nondiabetic ED patients, systemic levels of ET-1 (P<0.0001 for both) and ACE activity (P<0.01 and <0.05) were higher while GH (P<0.0001 and <0.001), NO (P<0.0001 for both) and cGMP (P<0.01 for both) levels were lower compared to controls. In diabetic patients, systemic and cavernosal ET-1 levels (P<0.0001 for both) and cavernosal ACE activity levels (P<0.05) were significantly elevated while systemic and cavernosal NO (P<0.0001 for both) and GH (<0.001 and <0.05) levels were declined compared to psychogenic. In nondiabetic patients, systemic and cavernosal ET-1 levels (P<0.0001 for both) were significantly elevated while systemic and cavernosal NO (P<0.0001 for both) and systemic GH levels (P<0.05) were declined compared to psychogenic. Systemic NO was positively correlated with GH in psychogenic (r=0.616, P<0.05), diabetic (r=0.583, P<0.05) and nondiabetic (r=0.615, P<0.05) patients and correlated positively with cGMP (r=0.605, P<0.05) but negatively with ACE activities (r=−0.585, P<0.05) in diabetic patients. In conclusion, plasma levels of ET-1, ACE activities are elevated and associated with reduction of GH, NO and cGMP levels in the systemic and cavernous blood of ED patients. This disturbance may indicate endothelial dysfunction that may hind at their significance in the pathophysiology of ED.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 8 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $32.38 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
NIH consensus development panel on impotence. JAMA 1993; 270: 83–90.
Goldstein I, and the Working Group for the study of central mechanisms in erectile dysfunction. Male sexual circuitry. Sci Am 2000; 283: 70–75.
Araujo AB et al. Relationship between psychosocial risk factors and incident erectile dysfunction: prospective results from the Masschusetts Male Aging Study. Am J Epidemiol 2000; 152: 533–541.
De Nicola L, Blantz RC, Gabbai FB . Nitric oxide and angiotensin II. J Clin Invest 1992; 89: 1248–1256.
Rajfer J et al. Nitric oxide as a mediator of relaxation of the corpus cavernosum in response to noradrenergic, norcholinergic neurotransmission. N Engl J Med 1992; 325: 90–94.
Burnett AL . Nitric oxide in the penis: physiology and pathology. J Urol 1997; 157: 320–324.
Rubanyi GM, Botelho LH . Endothelins. FASEB J 1991; 5: 2713–2720.
Christ GJ, Lerner SE, Kim DC, Melman A . Endothelin-1 as a putative modulator of erectile dysfunction: characteristics of contraction of isolated corporal tissue strips. J Urol 1995; 153: 1998–2003.
Teixeira CE et al. Pharmacological characterization of kinin-induced relaxation of human corpus cavernosum. Br J Urol 1998; 81: 432–436.
Kifor I et al. Tissue angiotensin II as modulator of erectile function. I. Angiotensin peptide content sections and effects in the corpus cavernosum. J Urol 1997; 157: 1920–1925.
Hsueh WA, Tuck ML . Aldosterone and the renin–angiotensin system. In: Becker KL (ed.). Principles and Practice of Endocrinology and Metabolism. Lippincott: Philadelphia, JB, 1990, pp 319–362.
Emori T et al. Cellular mechanism of endothelin-1 release of angiotenin and vasopressin. Hypertension 1991; 18: 165–171.
Neumann F et al. Endokrin-pharmakologie. In: Forth W et al. (eds). Allgemeine und Spezielle Pharmakologie und Toxikologie. Spektrum akadmischer Verlag: Heidelberg, 1996, p 581.
Becker AJ et al. Possible role of human growth hormone in penile erection. J Urol 2000; 164: 2138–2142.
Rosen RC et al. The international index of erectile function (IIEF): a multidimensional scale for assessment of erectile dysfunction. Urology 1997; 49: 822–830.
Goldstein I et al. Vascular diseases of the penis: impotence and priapism. In: Pollack HM (ed.) Clinical Urography, W. B. Saunders: Philadelphia, 1990.
Mulhall JP, Abdel-Monem A, Abobakr R, Goldstein I . Improvement the accuracy of vascular testing in impotent men: correcting hemodynamic alterations using a vasoactive medication re-dosing schedule. J Urol 2001; 166: 923–926.
Becker AJ, Uckert S, Stief CG, Jonas U . Plasma levels of cGMP in the cavernous and systemic blood of healthy males during different conditions of the penis. Urol Res 2001; 29: 366–370.
Magiure GA, Price CP . A continuous monitoring spectrophotometric method for the measurement of angiotensin converting enzyme. In human serum. Ann Clin Biochem 1985; 22: 204–210.
van Bezooijen RL et al. Plasma nitrate + nitrite level are regulated by ovarian steroids but do not correlate with trabecular bone mineral density in rats. J Endocrinol 1988; 159: 27–34.
Motulsky HJ . Analyzing Data with graphPad Prism. GraphPad software Inc.: San Diego, CA, 1999, pp 207–221.
Becker AJ et al. Possible role of bradykinin and angiotensin II in the regulation of penile erection and detumescene. Urology 2001; 57: 193–198.
Saenz de Tejada I et al. Regulation of adrenergic activity in penile corpus cavernosum. J Urol 1989; 142: 1117–1121.
Wetterling T, Veltrup C, Driessen M, John U . Drinking pattern and alcohol-related medical disorders. Alcohol Alcohol 1999; 34: 330–336.
Xie Y et al. Effect of long-term passive smoking on erectile function and penile nitric oxide synthase in the rat. J Urol 1997; 157: 1121–1126.
Abdel-Fadeil MR, Zedan H, Hamed EA, Abdel-Shakour M . Endothelin-1 and nitric oxide in patients with organic and psychogenic erectile dysfunction. Egyptian J Androl Reprod 2002; 16: 87–99.
Sullivan ME et al. Autoradiographic localization of nitric oxide synthase binding sites in normal and diabetic rat corpus cavernosum. Rur Urol 1996; 30: 506–511.
Johannes CB et al. Incidence of erectile dysfunction in men 40-69 years old: longitudinal results from the Massachusetts Male Aging Study. J Urol 2000; 163: 460–463.
Daimon M et al. Increase in serum ceruloplasmin levels is correlated with a decrease of serum nitric oxide levels in type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care 2000; 23: 559–560.
Maejima K et al. Increased basal levels of plasma nitric oxide in type 2 diabetic subjects. Relationship to microvascular complications. J Diabetes Complicat 2001; 15: 135–143.
Lue TF . Erectile dysfunction. N Engl J Med 2000; 15: 1802–1813.
Chang S et al. Increased contractility of diabetic rabbit corpora smooth muscle in response to endothelin is mediated via Rho-Kinase β. Int J Impot Res 2003; 15: 53–62.
Becker AJ et al. Serum levels of human growth hormone during different penile conditions in the cavernous and systemic blood of healthy men and patients with erectile dysfunction. Urology 2002; 59: 609–614.
Francavilla S et al. Endothelin-1 in diabetic and non-diabetic men with erectile dysfunction. J Urol 1997; 158: 1770–1774.
Rossi P et al. Comparison between plasma concentrations of testosterone, nitric oxide and endothelin 1-2 in penile and brachial venous blood: preliminary results in men with psychogenic impotence. Biomed Pharmacother 1998; 52: 308–310.
Kadioglu A, Memisoglu K, Sazoya O, Tuzun E . Intracavernosal endothelin levels of impotent men before and after papaverine induce erection. J Urol 1994; 151: 1107–1113.
Yan C, Kim D, Aizawa T, Berk BC . Functional interplay between angiotensin II and nitric oxide. Cyclic GMP as a key mediator. Arterioscler Throm Vasc Biol 2003; 23: 26–36.
Dohi Y et al. Endothelin stimulated by angiotensin II augments contractility of spontaneously hypertensive rat resistance arteries. Hypertension 1992; 19: 131–137.
Park JK et al. Gene polymorphism of angiotensin converting enzyme and endothelial nitric oxide synthase in patients with erectile dysfunction. Int J Impot Res 1999; 11: 273–276.
Acknowledgements
We are greatly in debt for the critical and devoted review to Professor Mohamed Essam EL-Deen Osman, MD (Professor of Urology, Assiut University Hospital, Assiut, Egypt). We also thank all the volunteers who participated in the present study.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hamed, E., Meki, A., Gaafar, A. et al. Role of some vasoactive mediators in patients with erectile dysfunction: their relationship with angiotensin-converting enzyme and growth hormone. Int J Impot Res 15, 418–425 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijir.3901059
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijir.3901059
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
Growth hormone, prolactin, and sexuality
Journal of Endocrinological Investigation (2014)
-
Association between ED and LUTS in Japanese motorcyclists
International Journal of Impotence Research (2008)
-
Do motorcyclists have erectile dysfunction? A preliminary study
International Journal of Impotence Research (2006)
-
Diagnostic value of nitric oxide, lipoprotein(a), and malondialdehyde levels in the peripheral venous and cavernous blood of diabetics with erectile dysfunction
International Journal of Impotence Research (2006)
-
Comparison of oxidative/antioxidative status of penile corpus cavernosum blood and peripheral venous blood
International Journal of Impotence Research (2005)