endothelin-1 and Penile-Induration

With the increasing awareness of Peyronie's disease (PD), the interest in new concept medications to treat the disorder is escalating. Profibrogenic factors such as transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1, endothelin (ET-1), connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), angiotensin (Ang) II and platelet derived growth factor (PDGF), all appear to be involved in the pathogenesis of PD. β-Thymosins, pirfenidone, nitric oxide (NO) donors, phosphodiesterase (PDE)-5 inhibitors, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs)/anti-tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMP)-1 reduce collagen synthesis, while decorin, follistatin, and Smad 7 exert antifibrotic effects; all have been proposed for the treatment of PD. Alternative and/or novel approaches for the treatment of PD are needed in part because of the recognized multifactorial etiology of this complex disorder. A comprehensive approach for translating available experimental information into clinically effective drug trials for the treatment of PD is needed. We propose a multi-faceted approach for drug development to generate novel drug products for the treatment of PD.

Topics: Adult; Angiotensin II; Animals; Connective Tissue Growth Factor; Disease Models, Animal; Drug Design; Drug Therapy; Endothelin-1; Fibrosis; Humans; Inflammation; Male; Middle Aged; Penile Induration; Platelet-Derived Growth Factor; Transforming Growth Factor beta1; Wound Healing