Molecular Yin and Yang of erectile function and dysfunction

作     者：Ching-Shwun Lin Zhong-Cheng Xin Zhong Wang Guiting Lin Tom E Lue 

作者机构：Knuppe Molecular Urology Laboratory Department of Urology School of Medicine University of California San Francisco CA 94143 USA Andrology Center Peking University First Hospital Beijing 100009 China Department of Urology Ninth Hospital Shanghai Second Medical University Shanghai 200011 China 

出 版 物：《Asian Journal of Andrology》 (亚洲男性学杂志（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2008年第10卷第3期

页      面：433-440页

核心收录：

学科分类：1002[医学-临床医学] 1001[医学-基础医学(可授医学、理学学位)] 10[医学] 

基　　金：National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases NIDDK: R37DK045370 

主　　题：erectile function erectile dysfunction molecular mechanisms Rho kinase signaling cyclic nucleotide signaling Yin-Yang 

摘      要：In regard to erectile function, Yin is flaccidity and Yang erection. In the past decade, research has mostly focused on the Yang aspect of erectile function. However, in recent years, the Yin side is attracting increasingly greater attention. This is due to the realization that penile flaccidity is no less important than penile erection and is actively maintained by mechanisms that play critical roles in certain types of erectile dysfunction （ED）; for example, in diabetic patients. In addition, there is evidence that the Yin and Yang signaling pathways interact with each other during the transition from flaccidity to erection, and vice versa. As such, it is important that we view erectile function from not only the Yang but also the Yin side. The purpose of this article is to review recent advances in the understanding of the molecular mechanisms that regulate the Yin and Yang of the penis. Emphasis is given to the Rho kinase signaling pathway that regulates the Yin, and to the cyclic nucleotide signaling pathway that regulates the Yang. Discussion is organized in such a way so as to follow the signaling cascade, that is, beginning with the extracellular signaling molecules （e.g., norepinephrin and nitric oxide） and their receptors, converging onto the intracellular effectors （e.g., Rho kinase and protein kinase G）, branching into secondary effectors, and finishing with contractile molecules and phosphodiesterases. Interactions between the Yin and Yang signaling pathways are discussed as well.