Novel noninvasive quantification of penile corpus caver no sum lesions in hyperlipidemia-induced erectile dysfunction in rabbits by two-dimensional shear-wave elastography

Structural alterations in fibroelastic compone nts of the penile corpus caver no usum(CC)may impair its compliance,resulting in venous leakage and erectile dysfunction(ED).Our study evaluated the effectiveness of noninvasive two-dimensional shear-wave elastography(2-D SWE)in quantifying penile CC lesions in rabbits with hyperlipidemia-induced ED.A total of 12 New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into two groups.Six were fed a high-cholesterol diet containing 2%cholesterol and 8.5%lard for 10 weeks and the other six were fed normal diet as controls.We measured the shear-wave elastic quantitative(SWQ)value of penile CC by 2-D SWE.Erectile function was inv estigated by intracavernous injecti on of pa pa ver i ne,and immunohistochemical(IHC)stain inga nd the wester n blot analysis to determine the penile CC lesions.After 10 weeks,the SWQ values obtained from penile CC were remarkably higher in the high-cholesterol-fed compared with the control group,and the AICP(ICP plateau minus ICP baseline)/MAP(ICP:intracavernous pressure,MAP:mean arterial pressure)was markedly decreased.The IHC staining and western blot revealed extracellular matrix(ECM)accumulation in penile cavernous tissues,and the smooth muscle cell(SMC)phenotypic transition was affected,as indicated by reduced alpha-smooth muscle actin and calponinexpression and increased phospho-myosin light chain?。(p-MLC20)/MLC20 and osteopontin expression.Hyperlipidemia resulted in ECM accumulation accompanied with SMC phenotypic transition in penile CC and impaired the erectile function eventually.These might,in turn,lead to variations in the SWQ values.It suggests that 2-D SWE may be a novel,noninvasive and effective approach that distinguishes penile CC lesions secondary to hyperlipidemia from normal.

Clinical benefits of a modified Cryopiece system for cryopreservation of rare ejaculated and testicular spermatozoa for ICSI

Cryopreservation of rare testicular-retrieved spermatozoa for intracytoplasmic sperm injection(ICSI)in patients with severe oligozoospermia and azoospermia remains a major challenge in clinical practice.This study evaluated the Cryopiece system as a potential technique to cryopreserve rare human spermatozoa for ICSI.Small numbers of ejaculated(24 patients)and testicular(13 patients)spermatozoa were cryopreserved using the Cryopiece system.The total number of recovered spermatozoa and motility were assessed after thawing.Thirty-seven couples underwent ICSI using spermatozoa cryopreserved by the Cryopiece system,and ICSI outcomes(rates of fertilization,embryo cleavage,and clinical pregnancy)were evaluated.The average sperm post-thaw retrieval rate was 79.1%,and motility was 29.7%.Ejaculated spermatozoa had a higher post-thaw motility(32.5%)than testicular spermatozoa(21.8%;P=0.005).ICSI achieved a fertilization rate of 61.9%,embryo cleavage rate of 84.6%,and clinical pregnancy rate of 43.3%.The ICSI outcomes in the ejaculated and testicular frozen-thawed spermatozoa were similar.Assisted oocyte activation(AOA)after ICSI with motile(72.1%)or immotile(71.9%)spermatozoa resulted in a significantly higher fertilization rate than that when using motile spermatozoa without AOA(52.0%;P=0.005).However,AOA did not enhance the clinical pregnancy rate(55.6%or 40.0%vs 35.3%;P=0.703).The Cryopiece system is simple and useful for the cryopreservation of small numbers of ejaculated or testicular spermatozoa for ICSI in patients with severe oligozoospermia or nonobstructive azoospermia.