Investigation of expression and activity of rho-kinase enzyme in the aorta and corpus cavernosum isolated from statin treated mice

In this study, we investigated the effects of chronic inhibition of HMG-CoA reductase with rosuvastatin intake (30 mg/kg/day, via gastric gavage, 30 days) on Rho-kinase enzyme expression and activation by Western blot analysis and isolated organ bath experiments on the thoracic aorta and corpus cavernosum(CC) in the mice. In the rosuvastatin-treated mice, serum total cholesterol level was significantly lower than the untreated mice. Contractile responses of the aorta obtained from rosuvastatin-treated mice to 1-adrenoceptor agonist phenylephrine were not changed while KCl-induced contractions were decreased when compared to those of untreated group. Contractile responses of the CC obtained from rosuvastatin-treated group to phenylephrine were not changed while EC50 for phenylephrine was significantly increased. Relaxant responses to Rho-kinase inhibitor Y-27632 were significantly increased in both thoracic aorta and CC obtained from rosuvastatin-treated mice. In western blot analysis, expression and activation levels in rho-kinase were not different in the aorta and CC from mice treated with rosuvastatin when compared to those of untreated mice. These findings suggest that chronic inhibition of HMG-CoA reductase by rosuvastatin not only leads to decrease in the contractile responses to KCl in the thoracic aorta and to phenylephrine in the CC but also increase in the relaxant