Therapeutic Effects of Intracavernosal Stromal Vascular Fraction in an Ischemic Cavernosal Injury Model of Erectile Dysfunction

Therapeutic Effects of Intracavernosal Stromal Vascular Fraction in an Ischemic Cavernosal Injury Model of Erectile Dysfunction | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Therapeutic Effects of Intracavernosal Stromal Vascular Fraction in an Ischemic Cavernosal Injury Model of Erectile Dysfunction Ramazan Omer Yazar, Yasar Basaga, Yunus Emre Dusunus, Ibrahim Ogulcan Canitez, and 7 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8475950/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Purpose To evaluate the effects of intracavernosal stromal vascular fraction (SVF) on erectile function and tissue-level changes in an ischemic priapism model. Methods Male Wistar rats (n=24) were randomized to Sham, Priapism, or Priapism+SVF (n=8 each). Priapism was induced with a penile base constrictor for 60 min. Autologous SVF from peritesticular fat was injected at band removal. At 4 weeks, cavernous nerve–stimulated intracavernosal pressure (ICP) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were recorded; penile tissue underwent histology, immunohistochemistry, and qRT-PCR. Results Two rats died before model creation; analyses included Sham (n=8), Priapism (n=7), and Priapism+SVF (n=7). Baseline ICP and MAP were similar (p=0.105; p=0.911). Priapism lowered ICPmax, ICPmean, and ICP/MAP versus Sham (all p<0.001). SVF improved ICPmax and ICP/MAP versus Priapism (p=0.002; p=0.013) but did not reach Sham. ICPmean difference was not significant between Priapism and SVF groups (p=0.079). qRT-PCR showed no differences in NGF, TGF-β1, VEGF, or BDNF (all p>0.05). Histology showed more inflammation, fibrosis, cellular injury, hypoplasia, and loss of elastin in Priapism; with SVF these changes shifted to milder grades and elastin partially recovered (all p=0.001). Immunohistochemistry: VEGF unchanged; Bcl-2 higher in Priapism and intermediate after SVF (extent p=0.035; intensity p=0.001). eNOS reduced in Priapism and partially restored with SVF (extent p=0.006). nNOS elevated in Priapism and attenuated with SVF (both p=0.001). iNOS remained higher in both Priapism arms compared to Sham (both p=0.003). The muscle-to-fibrosis ratio did not differ (p=0.561), whereas the type I/type III collagen ratio did (p=0.003). Conclusions Intracavernosal SVF conferred partial protection in ischemic priapism. Its minimally processed, point-of-care profile supports feasibility after detumescence, and its endothelial, antifibrotic, and neurotrophic actions make it promising for broader erectile dysfunction phenotypes. Larger preclinical and controlled clinical studies should define optimal dose/timing and establish long-term efficacy and safety. Erectile dysfunction Fibrosis Mesenchymal stem cells Priapism Regeneration Stromal Vascular Fraction Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8475950","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":602918647,"identity":"c355bf68-3772-46d3-a236-b909d4d436b3","order_by":0,"name":"Ramazan Omer 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Injury Model of Erectile Dysfunction","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Erectile dysfunction; Fibrosis, Mesenchymal stem cells, Priapism, Regeneration, Stromal Vascular Fraction","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8475950/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8475950/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePurpose\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo evaluate the effects of intracavernosal stromal vascular fraction (SVF) on erectile function and tissue-level changes in an ischemic priapism model.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMale Wistar rats (n=24) were randomized to Sham, Priapism, or Priapism+SVF (n=8 each). Priapism was induced with a penile base constrictor for 60 min. Autologous SVF from peritesticular fat was injected at band removal. At 4 weeks, cavernous nerve–stimulated intracavernosal pressure (ICP) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were recorded; penile tissue underwent histology, immunohistochemistry, and qRT-PCR.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo rats died before model creation; analyses included Sham (n=8), Priapism (n=7), and Priapism+SVF (n=7). Baseline ICP and MAP were similar (p=0.105; p=0.911). Priapism lowered ICPmax, ICPmean, and ICP/MAP versus Sham (all p\u0026lt;0.001). SVF improved ICPmax and ICP/MAP versus Priapism (p=0.002; p=0.013) but did not reach Sham. ICPmean difference was not significant between Priapism and SVF groups (p=0.079). qRT-PCR showed no differences in NGF, TGF-β1, VEGF, or BDNF (all p\u0026gt;0.05). Histology showed more inflammation, fibrosis, cellular injury, hypoplasia, and loss of elastin in Priapism; with SVF these changes shifted to milder grades and elastin partially recovered (all p=0.001). Immunohistochemistry: VEGF unchanged; Bcl-2 higher in Priapism and intermediate after SVF (extent p=0.035; intensity p=0.001). eNOS reduced in Priapism and partially restored with SVF (extent p=0.006). nNOS elevated in Priapism and attenuated with SVF (both p=0.001). iNOS remained higher in both Priapism arms compared to Sham (both p=0.003). The muscle-to-fibrosis ratio did not differ (p=0.561), whereas the type I/type III collagen ratio did (p=0.003).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConclusions\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIntracavernosal SVF conferred partial protection in ischemic priapism. Its minimally processed, point-of-care profile supports feasibility after detumescence, and its endothelial, antifibrotic, and neurotrophic actions make it promising for broader erectile dysfunction phenotypes. Larger preclinical and controlled clinical studies should define optimal dose/timing and establish long-term efficacy and safety.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Therapeutic Effects of Intracavernosal Stromal Vascular Fraction in an Ischemic Cavernosal Injury Model of Erectile Dysfunction","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-03-11 18:55:28","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8475950/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"1ba3d471-80d9-43c3-9e24-e74ff8f1a4ef","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 11th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-08T13:13:48+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-03-11 18:55:28","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8475950","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8475950","identity":"rs-8475950","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}