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Fibrocyte markers are increased in the pudendal artery of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR)

Erectile dysfunction is associated with the presence of hypertension and its incidence increases with the severity and duration of blood pressure elevation. In hypertension, vascular dysfunction and corpus cavernosum dysfunction are characterized by similar hallmark alterations, such as decreased relaxation and augmented contractile responses, vascular inflammation and remodeling. Fibrocytes are bone marrow derived mesenchymal progenitor cells that have recently been linked with fibrosis and vascular remodeling and are increased in hypertension. We hypothesized that fibrocytes contribute to pudendal artery remodeling in the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR). Pudendal arteries were isolated from male SHR and normotensive Wistar‐Kyoto control rats (WKY). Co‐staining for pro‐collagen and CD45, markers of fibrocytes, were observed in pudendal arteries using confocal microscopy. Protein expression of pro‐collagen and CD45 was also quantified by western blotting. Our results indicate that protein expression of fibrocyte markers, as well as co‐staining, were increased in the pudendal artery of SHR compared to WKY. These data suggest that fibrocyte‐induced vascular dysfunction in the pudendal artery could be associated with ED in hypertension. Therefore, fibrocytes can be a putative target for novel therapeutic approaches of this condition.