World J Mens Health.  2022 Oct;40(4):653-662. 10.5534/wjmh.210121.

Therapeutic Effect of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Conditioned Medium on Erectile Dysfunction

• Kim SG
• You D
• Kim K
• Aum J
• Kim YS
• Jang MJ
• Moon KH
• Kang HW

• KMID: 2537113
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5534/wjmh.210121

Abstract

Purpose
Owing to the safety and cost effectiveness of conditioned medium (CM), its therapeutic effects have attracted significant attention from many researchers. To date, numerous studies have been conducted on CM; however, little has been done with regard to erectile dysfunction (ED). In this research, the potential of human mesenchymal stem cell-derived CM (MSC-CM) for the treatment of ED was investigated.
Materials and Methods
A high concentration of MSC-CM was prepared through 3D spheroid culturing with bone marrowderived MSCs and cut-off filtering. The composition of CM was analyzed using biochemical assays, and the effect of the preparation process on the quality of CM was investigated. The therapeutic effects of MSC-CM were evaluated through animal studies using a cavernous nerve (CN) injury rat model.
Results
3D spheroid culturing afforded a 278-fold increase in the total protein content of CM, as compared to that from 2D cultures; the protein concentration increased by 19 times on increasing the centrifugation time for cut-off filtering. Biochemical assays indicated that the CM contains various types of angiogenic, neurotrophic, and anti-inflammatory factors. Histological assay results showed that MSC-CM has angio- and neuro-trophic effect in a CN injury rat model in vivo, and these therapeutic effects appear in a dose-dependent manner.
Conclusions
The experimental results confirmed the therapeutic effect of MSC-CM in healing damaged cavernosal tissue and restoring erectile function. These results successfully demonstrated that MSC-CM has significant potential for the treatment of ED.

Keyword

Angiotrophic effect; Conditioned medium; Erectile dysfunction; Mesenchymal stem cell; Neurotrophic effect