Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a pathological overgrowth of the human prostate. It may cause increased resistance to urine flow through the urethra and occasionally kidney damage, bladder stones and urinary tract infections, and therefore affect the quality of life. Qianliening capsule (QC) is a traditional Chinese formula that has been used clinically in China to treat BPH for a number of years. However, the mechanism of its anti-BPH effect remains largely unknown. We evaluated the therapeutic effect of QC in a rat model of BPH, established by the injection of testosterone following castration, and investigated the underlying molecular mechanism of action. We observed that QC treatment significantly and dose-dependently decreased the prostatic volume (PV) and prostatic index (PI; P<0.05 or P<0.01), and ameliorated the histological damage of the prostate tissue in the BPH rats. In addition, treatment with QC inhibited the phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), as well as the expression of epidermal growth factor (EGF), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), cyclin D1 and Bcl-2. Our results suggest that suppression of the EGF/STAT3 pathway may be one of the mechanisms by which QC treats BPH.
Keywords: benign prostatic hyperplasia; epidermal growth factor; qianliening capsule; signal transducer and activator of transcription 3.