Connective tissue cells in the penis more important for potency than previously thought

#Connective #tissue #cells #penis #important #potency #previously #thought

Regular erections may be important for maintaining potency, shows a study on mice published in Science by researchers at Karolinska Institutet.
– We discovered that an increased frequency of erections leads to more connective tissue cells that enable erection and vice versa, that a reduced frequency results in fewer cells, says Christian Göritz, research leader for the study.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Uppsala University can show in a new study, carried out on mice, that a type of connective tissue cells called fibroblasts has a previously unknown and very important function during erection.

– Fibroblasts are the most common cells in the penis in both mice and humans, but they have been overlooked in research. Now we can show, with the help of a very precise method called optogenetics, that they have a very important role in regulating blood flow in the penis, which makes the penis erect, says Eduardo Guimaraes, researcher at the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology at Karolinska Institutet and the study’s first author.

The study shows that fibroblasts enable erection by taking up the signaling substance norepinephrine, which leads to dilation of the blood vessels in the penis. How effective this process is depends on the number of fibroblasts.

The body adapts

The researchers were also able to show that the number of fibroblasts in the penis is affected by how often the experimental animals have an erection. The more frequent the more fibroblasts and vice versa, lower frequency of erections decreased the number of fibroblasts.

– It’s not really that strange. If you exert yourself a lot, the body adapts. If you run regularly, it becomes easier to breathe during the run after a while, says Christian Göritz, senior researcher at the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology at Karolinska Institutet, who led the study.

When it comes to what conclusions can be drawn to humans from studies on mice, Christian Göritz believes that in this case there are significant similarities.

– The basic mechanisms of erection are very similar in all mammals in terms of anatomy, cell structure and so on. However, there is one difference between humans and most mammals – they have a bone in their penis. This means that effective regulation of blood flow is probably even more important for human reproduction, he says.

Fewer fibroblasts with age

Older mice had a lower incidence of fibroblasts in the penis, which also showed in a lower blood flow in the penis. Even in humans, the ability to get an erection decreases with age, which could, among other things, be due to fewer fibroblasts in the penis. The researchers therefore believe that it could be possible to train the ability to get an erection to counteract impotence in the same way that you can train your strength or fitness at the gym.

– It is not something that we have shown in our study, so it is a bit speculative. But a reasonable interpretation is that it goes better if you have regular erections, says Christian Göritz.

He hopes that the new knowledge about the role of fibroblasts in erection can also lead to new future treatments that can help with impotence.

The research was mainly funded by the Bertil Hållsten Foundation and the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation. There are no reported conflicts of interest.

Fact: Impotence, or erectile dysfunction, affects between 5 and 20 percent of all men, with increasing incidence at older ages. Impotence often negatively affects the quality of life as well as the physical and psychosocial health, both for the patient and his family. Common risk factors, apart from age, are similar to those for cardiovascular disease: inactivity, obesity, high blood pressure, smoking, high cholesterol levels and the metabolic syndrome. Source: Region Stockholm’s knowledge support Viss.nu.

Publication: “Corpora cavernosa fibroblasts mediate penile erection”, Eduardo Linck Guimaraes, David Oliveira Dias, Wing Fung Hau, Anais Julien, Daniel Holl, Maria Garcia-Collado, Soniya Savant, Evelina Vågesjö, Mia Phillipson, Lars Jakobsson, Christian Göritz. Scienceonline 8 februari 2024, doi: 10.1126/science.ade8064.

For more information contact:
Christian Göritz, senior researcher
Department of Cell and Molecular Biology at Karolinska Institutet
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +46-(0)8-524 873 64

Karolinska Institutet is one of the world’s leading medical universities with the vision to drive the development of knowledge about life and work for better health for everyone. In Sweden, Karolinska Institutet accounts for the single largest share of medical academic research and has the largest range of medical education. Every year, the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet appoints a recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Tags: