Peptide amphiphile delivery of sonic hedgehog protein promotes neurite formation in penile projecting neurons

Erectile dysfunction critically impacts quality of life in prostatectomy, diabetic and aging patients. The underlying mechanism involves cavernous nerve injury. As a step towards clinical translation, we examined how peptide amphiphile nanofiber hydrogels delivering sonic hedgehog protein to the cavernous nerve at the time of crush injury (rat prostatectomy model) significantly promote regeneration and improve erectile function. A key mechanism is sonic hedgehog regulation of neurite formation in penile projecting neurons, which is critical for re-innervation and clinical translation. Development of peptide amphiphile sonic hedgehog delivery has significant potential for high impact on future treatment of prostatectomy patients to prevent erectile dysfunction.180