Research and Reports in Urology (Sep 2022)
Eriochloa villosa Alleviates Progression of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia in vitro and in vivo
Abstract
Eun Bok Baek,1 Youn-Hwan Hwang,2 Suyoung Park,1 Eun-Ju Hong,1 Young-Suk Won,3 Hyo-Jung Kwun1 1Department of Veterinary Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Korea; 2Herbal Medicine Research Division, Korean Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon, Korea; 3Laboratory Animal Resource Center, Korean Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Chungbuk, KoreaCorrespondence: Hyo-Jung Kwun, Department of Veterinary Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Chungnam National University, 220 Gung-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34134, Korea, Tel +82-42-821-6751, Fax +82-42-821-8903, Email [email protected]: Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a non-neoplastic proliferative disease of the prostate. Eriochloa villosa (EV) reportedly possesses various pharmacological activities, including anti-lipase activity and modulation of various antioxidative enzymes. In this study, we investigate the therapeutic potential of EV against BPH in a testosterone-induced BPH rat model.Methods: Rats were subjected to a daily subcutaneous injection of testosterone (3 mg kg− 1) for 4 weeks to induce BPH. Along with testosterone, rats in the treatment group were administered finasteride (10 mg kg− 1) or EV (150 mg kg− 1) via oral gavage. Prostatic cancer (LNCaP) cell line was used to examine the effect of EV.Results: Finasteride and EV significantly decrease the relative prostate weight, serum levels of dihydrotestosterone and testosterone, and prostate epithelial thickness. Testosterone injection induced prostatic hyperplasia and proliferating cell nuclear antigen expression; however, EV treatment significantly attenuated these effects. Moreover, finasteride- and EV-treated rats exhibit an increase in the number of TUNEL-positive cells and reduced Bcl-2 expression in the prostate tissues compared with the testosterone-treated animals. Furthermore, EV suppresses inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8, in the prostate tissues. Meanwhile, the expression of inflammatory mediator cyclooxygenase-2 is consistently upregulated in testosterone-treated rats, whereas EV treatment significantly reverses this effect. Notably, EV treatment suppresses malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and upregulates testosterone-induced catalase (CAT) expression. In addition, EV suppresses expression of androgen receptor (AR) and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) induced by testosterone in LNCaP cells.Conclusion: The present study results suggest that EV regulates prostatic proliferation, apoptosis, response to inflammation, and oxidative stress in the BPH rat model, and may, therefore, serve as a useful therapeutic agent for BPH.Keywords: benign prostatic hyperplasia, Eriochloa villosa, proliferation, apoptosis, inflammation, oxidative stress
