Objective: To study the effect of Yishen Tonglong Capsules (YTC) on the sex hormone levels in the mouse model of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).
Methods: The BPH model was made in male mice by subcutaneous injection of testosterone propionate at 5 mg per kg of the body weight per day for 3 weeks. Then the model animals were divided into five groups of 10 in each: model control, Longbishu Capsules (LBS), and high-, medium- and low-dose YTC. Another 10 mice were included as normal controls. The mice in the LBS group were treated intragastrically with LBS at 0.45 g per kg of the body weight, those in the high-, medium- and low-dose YTC groups with YTC at 1.2, 0.6 and 0.3 g per kg of the body weight, and those in the model and normal control groups given the same volume of distilled water. After 8 weeks of treatment, the mice were sacrificed and their prostates taken for measurement of their wet weight, calculation of the prostatic index (PI), determination of the levels of serum testosterone (T), estradiol (E2) and E2/T ratio, and observation of the morphological changes of the prostate tissue under the light microscope.
Results: The wet weight of the prostate and PI were significantly decreased in the LBS and medium- and high-dose YTC groups as compared with the model control group (P<0.01). The serum T and E2 levels and E2/T ratio were (1.73±0.02) ng/ml, (73.08±1.03) pg/ml and 42.30±0.53 in the normal control, (3.86±0.02) ng/ml, (145.79±0.88) pg/ml and 37.76±0.25 in the model control, (2.47±0.02) ng/ml, (95.87±0.47) pg/ml and 38.80±0.13 in the LBS, (2.91±0.03) ng/ml, (112.68±0.77) pg/ml and 38.80±0.42 in the low-dose YTC, (2.77±0.02) ng/ml, (112.16±0.82) pg/ml and 40.56±0.29 in the medium-dose YTC, and (2.75±0.03) ng/ml, (107.11±0.61) pg/ml and 38.92±0.36 in the high-dose YTC group, all with statistically significant differences between the model control and the other groups (P<0.05 or P<0.01).
Conclusions: Yishen Tonglong Capsules significantly reduced the levels of serum T and E2 and elevated the E2/T ratio in the mouse model of BPH, which manifested the action mechanism of Yishen Tonglong Capsules in the treatment of BPH.
目的： 探讨益肾通癃胶囊对良性前列腺增生（BPH）模型小鼠生殖激素水平的影响。方法： 对SPF雄性小鼠皮下注射丙酸睾酮5mg/(kg·d)，连续3周，待造模成功后分为6组：正常对照组，模型组，癃闭舒胶囊组，益肾通癃胶囊高、中、低剂量组，每组10只。益肾通癃胶囊高、中、低剂量组分别用1.2，0.6，0.3 g/kg益肾通癃胶囊混悬液灌胃，癃闭舒胶囊组用0.45 g/kg癃闭舒胶囊混悬液灌胃，正常对照组及模型组给予同体积蒸馏水。给药8周后处死小鼠，称取前列腺湿重并计算前列腺指数(PI)，测量小鼠血清中睾酮(T)、雌二醇(E2)的水平、E2/T比值，光镜下观察小鼠前列腺组织的形态变化。结果： 与模型组比较，益肾通癃胶囊中、高剂量组及癃闭舒胶囊组均可降低模型小鼠前列腺湿重、PI指数(P均<0.01)。各组小鼠血清T、E2、E2/T水平：正常对照组：（1.73±0.02）ng/ml、（73.08±1.03）pg/ml、42.30±0.53；模型组：（3.86±0.02）ng/ml，（145.79±0.88）pg/ml，37.76±0.25；癃闭舒胶囊组：（2.47±0.02）ng/ml，（95.87±0.47）pg/ml，38.80±0.13；益肾通癃胶囊高剂量组：（2.75±0.03）ng/ml，（107.11±0.61）pg/ml，38.92±0.36；益肾通癃胶囊中剂量组：（2.77±0.02）ng/ml，（112.16±0.82）pg/ml，40.56±0.29；益肾通癃胶囊低剂量组：（2.91±0.03）ng/ml，（112.68±0.77）pg/ml，38.80±0.42，各组与模型组相比，差异均具有统计学意义(P<0.05或P<0.01)。结论： 益肾通癃胶囊可能通过降低BPH模型小鼠血清T、E2,升高E2/T比值，揭示了益肾通癃胶囊治疗BPH的机制。.
Keywords: Yishen Tonglong Capsules; benign prostatic hyperplasia; mouse; sex hormone.