Both of the neuroprotective and tissue-protective effects of platelet-rich plasma on erectile function in bilateral cavernous nerve injury rat model

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to determine the platelet
rich plasma (PRP) action target that mediates its effect on erectile function
(EF) recovery in the bilateral cavernous nerve crush (BCNC) injury rat
model.
Materials and Methods: 52 rats were randomly divided into two equal
groups: intracavernosal injection (IC) of saline after BCNC (group 1)
and IC injection of PRP after BCNC (group 2). Five animals in each
group were euthanized at 3 and 7 day (d) post-injection, and the tis-
sues were harvested to conduct transmission electron microscopy
(TEM) and histological assays in the penis, cavernous nerve (CN), and
major pelvic ganglion (MPG). Eight animals in each group were used to
determine the recovery of EF at 14 and 28 d post-injury, after which
the penis, CN, and MPG tissues were harvested to conduct TEM and
histological assays.
Results: Intracavernosal injections of PRP increased all erectile function
parameters at 28 d (pjections simultaneously prevented the loss of neural nitric oxide synthase
(nNOS)-positive neurons (pand CN compared with group 1, respectively, which accelerated the
regeneration of myelinated axons of the CN, reduced apoptosis, and
enhanced the proliferation of the corporal smooth muscle cells at an
earlier stage.
Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that the application of PRP
for erectile dysfunction caused by BCNC-related axonotmesis was benefi-
cial to restore EF via both neuroprotective and tissue-protective effects.