Figure 4

NET degradation alleviated diabetic ED symptoms of rats. (A) Assessment of the levels of plasma H3Cit, NE, and cf-DNA (n = 6/group). (B) Assessment of expression levels of H3Cit and MPO in the corpus cavernosum tissues of rats using immunofluorescence (n = 6/group; scale bar = 50 μm). (C) Blood routine examination of WBC, RBC, Hb, and PLT levels in rats (n = 6/group). (D) Assessment of erection number and latency in rats (n = 6/group). (E) Assessment of the serum testosterone level using ELISA (n = 6/group). (F) Histopathological examination of the corpus cavernosum tissues of rats using HE staining (n = 6/group; scale bar = 50 μm). (G) Histopathological examination of the corpus cavernosum tissues of rats using Masson staining (n = 6/group; scale bar = 50 μm). Rats in diabetic ED + DNase I group were intraperitoneally injected with DNase I (a NET degrading agent) at the dose of 1 mg/kg for 8 successive days. Meanwhile, rats in Control and diabetic ED groups were intraperitoneally injected with the same amount of normal saline. Data were presented as mean ± standard deviation. **p < 0.01. NET neutrophil extracellular trap, ED erectile dysfunction, H3Cit citrullinated histone H3, NE neutrophil elastase, cf-DNA cell-free DNA, MPO myeloperoxidase, WBC white blood cell, RBC red blood cell, Hb hemoglobin, PLT platelet, ELISA enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, HE hematoxylin–eosin.