Abstract
Cinnamomi cortex (dried bark of Cinnamomum verum) is an important drug in Traditional Korean Medicine used to improve blood circulation and Yang Qi. Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common chronic disease in aging men. This study was conducted to determine the effect of Cinnamomi cortex water extract (CC) on BPH. BPH was induced by a pre-4-week daily injection of testosterone propionate (TP). Six weeks of further injection with (a) vehicle, (b) TP, (c) TP + CC, (d) TP + finasteride (Fi) was carried on. As a result, the prostate weight and prostatic index of the CC treatment group were reduced. Histological changes including epithelial thickness and lumen area were recovered as normal by CC treatment. The protein expressions of prostate specific antigen, estrogen receptor α (ERα), androgen receptor (AR), 5α-reductase (5AR), and steroid receptor coactivator 1 were suppressed by treatment of CC. Immunohistochemical assays supported the western blot results, as the expressions of AR and ERα were down-regulated by CC treatment as well. Further in vitro experiments showed CC was able to inhibit proliferation of RWPE-1 cells by suppressing 5AR and AR. These results all together suggest CC as a potential treatment for BPH.
Highlights
IntroductionThe incidence of Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) increases with age
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common chronic disease in aging men[1,2]
The authors investigated the effect of cortex water extract (CC) in testosterone propionate (TP)-induced BPH rat model of Kato et al.[25], which was improved by Maggi and colleauges[26] and is currently used widely as a novel vivo model for BPH studies[27,28]
Summary
The incidence of BPH increases with age. In males over 60 years of age, more than 50% of them suffer from BPH symptoms[3]. BPH is mainly caused by proliferations of smooth muscle and epithelial cells locating in the prostate. DHT is five times more important than testosterone to expression of BPH7. While serum concentration of testosterone decreases with age, the activities of 5AR and androgen receptor (AR) are increased due to androgen balance. High concentration of DHT enhances prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels by binding with AR. The PSA levels can be increased by increased prostate volume or inflammation. Despite the fact it is not a unique indicator of prostate cancer, PSA is widely used to help the diagnosis of BPH8,9. Among several reported co-regulators, one of the most extensively characterized AR co-regulator is the steroid receptor coactivator 1 (SRC1), which can affect AR-mediated cell proliferation[13]
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