OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of the plasma containing Qianlongtong Capsule (QLT)-containing plasma on the expression of the Smad4 gene in prostate stromal cells in vitro and provide some experimental evidence for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) with Chinese medicinal compound.

METHODSFifteen cases of BPH were equally randomized to three groups to be treated with QLT at a high dose (6 capsules once), a medium dose (3 capsules once), and a low dose (1.5 capsules once), tid, for 7 days consecutively. QLT-containing plasma was collected from the patients. Prostate stromal cells were identified by immunofluorescence when they became monolayered and cultured in the QLT-containing plasma for 24 hours, followed by detection of the expression of the Smad4 gene by real-time quantitative PCR and that of the Smad4 protein by Western blot.

RESULTSAfter treatment with the QLT-containing plasma, the expression of the Smad4 gene in the stromal cells was significantly increased in a dose-dependent manner as compared with the blank control and no-QLT groups (P < 0.01). The expression of the Smad4 protein was also markedly elevated after treatment. The differences were statistically significant between the blank control and medium-dose groups (P < 0.01), low-dose and medium-dose groups (P < 0.05), and high-dose and the other groups (P < 0.01), but not between the blank control and low-dose groups (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONQLT-containing plasma could inhibit the proliferation and improve the apoptotic index of prostate stromal cells in vitro, which was related to the elevation of the mRNA and protein expressions of Smad4.