Clinical staging, Gleason score, and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) have been accepted as factors for evaluating the prognosis of prostate cancer (PCa). With the in-depth study of iron metabolism and the development of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging technology, we used q-Dixon magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure the iron content of the PCa patients' lesions, and used enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to measure the iron metabolism indicators in the patients' serum samples, combined with the patients' postoperative clinical data for analysis. We found that the serum indexes were correlated with the T2 star values, International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) grade, and pathological classification in PCa patients (all P < 0.001) but not in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) patients (all P > 0.05). The utilization of q-Dixon-based MRI and serum indexes allows the noninvasive measurement of iron content in prostate lesions and the assessment of differential iron metabolism between PCa and BPH, which may be helpful for evaluating the prognosis of PCa.
Male ; Humans ; Prostatic Hyperplasia/pathology* ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; Prostatic Neoplasms/pathology* ; Prostate/pathology* ; Neoplasm Grading ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods* ; Iron

Prostate inflammation (PI) is closely related to the development and progression of chronic prostatic diseases: benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer. Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 has been reported to be associated with inflammatory diseases, such as infections, autoimmune diseases, and cancers. Meanwhile, TLR10, which can form heterodimers with TLR2, has been considered an orphan receptor without an exact function. The present study therefore aims to examine the effects of TLR2 and TLR10 on PI. Prostate samples and clinical data were obtained from the patients diagnosed with benign prostatic hyperplasia. The inflammatory cell model was established by adding lipopolysaccharide to RWPE-1 cells. Prostate tissues/cells were examined by histological, molecular, and biochemical approaches. Both TLR2 and TLR10 were found to be expressed in prostate tissues and RWPE-1 cells. mRNA/protein expression levels of TLR2 and TLR10 were both positively correlated with prostate tissue inflammatory grades. Lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RWPE-1 cells expressed higher levels of TLR2, TLR10, high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), phospho-nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B-cells P65 (phospho-NF-κB P65), interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-8 than control cells. Moreover, HMGB1, phospho-NF-κB P65, IL-6, and IL-8 were downregulated after TLR2 knockdown and upregulated after TLR10 knockdown in RWPE-1 cells. TLR2 stimulation can activate the inflammatory signaling cascade in prostate epithelial cells. Conversely, TLR10 exhibited suppressive effects on inflammation. With antagonistic functions, both TLR2 and TLR10 were involved in PI. TLR10 could be a novel target in modulating inflammatory signal transduction of prostate epithelial cells.
Aged ; Cell Line ; Cytokines/metabolism* ; Epithelial Cells/pathology* ; Humans ; Inflammation/pathology* ; Lipopolysaccharides/pharmacology* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phosphorylation/drug effects* ; Prostate/pathology* ; Prostatic Hyperplasia/pathology* ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; Toll-Like Receptor 10/metabolism* ; Toll-Like Receptor 2/metabolism* ; Up-Regulation

Cell Line, Tumor ; Epithelial Cells ; metabolism ; pathology ; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition ; genetics ; physiology ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; genetics ; physiology ; Humans ; Male ; MicroRNAs ; genetics ; metabolism ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Wnt Signaling Pathway ; genetics ; physiology ; beta Catenin ; genetics ; metabolism ; rho-Associated Kinases ; genetics ; metabolism

Erectile dysfunction is a common side effect of finasteride and dutasteride treatments. The objective of this study was to investigate the structural changes in the penis using a benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) rodent model treated with dutasteride or finasteride. Sixty male rats were divided into the following groups: C, untreated control rats; C + D, control rats receiving dutasteride; C + F, control rats receiving finasteride; H, untreated spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs); H + D, SHRs treated with dutasteride; and H + F, SHRs treated with finasteride. Treatments were performed for 40 days, and penises were collected immediately thereafter. The organs were analyzed using histomorphometric methods to determine the cross-sectional penile area, as well as the surface density (Sv) of smooth muscle fibers, connective tissue, elastic system fibers, and sinusoidal spaces of the corpus cavernosum. The results were compared using a one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni's posttest. Groups C + D and C + F had a significantly smaller penile cross-sectional area, but more elastic system fiber Sv compared to Group C. Group C + D showed less smooth muscle Sv, and Group H showed more connective tissue but a smaller sinusoidal space Sv in the corpus cavernosum compared to Group C. Groups H + D and H + F had less smooth muscle Sv than Group H. Group H + D also had more connective tissue and elastic system fiber Sv than Group H. Both dutasteride and finasteride promoted penile modifications in the control rat penis, although this affect was greater in Group H animals. In this rodent model, dutasteride was the drug that most affected the corpus cavernosum.
5-alpha Reductase Inhibitors/therapeutic use* ; Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Dutasteride/therapeutic use* ; Finasteride/therapeutic use* ; Male ; Muscle, Smooth/pathology* ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle/pathology* ; Penis/pathology* ; Prostate/pathology* ; Prostatic Hyperplasia/pathology* ; Rats

Objective: To investigate the effects of transrectal ultrasound conductance (TRUSC)-guided administration of traditional Chinese medicine on histological prostatitis in men with small-size BPH and low urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) after transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). METHODS: This study included 167 BPH patients without surgical contraindications. We randomized the patients into an experimental group (n = 84) and a control group (n = 83), with no statistically significant differences between the two groups in age, prostate volume, International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), and quality of life (QoL) (P >0.05). The patients of the experimental group received TRUSC-guided administration of traditional Chinese medicine, qd, for 7 days before TURP, while those of the control group underwent TURP only. After treatment, we compared the results of postoperative pathological examination of the prostate tissue, the histological grade of inflammation, IPSS, and QoL scores between the two groups of patients. RESULTS: In the experimental group, there were 12 cases of non-inflammation (14.3%), 43 cases of mild inflammation (51.2%), 28 cases of moderate inflammation (33.3%), and 1 case of severe inflammation (1.2%), as compared with 8 cases of non-inflammation (9.6%), 28 cases of mild inflammation (33.7%), 45 cases of moderate inflammation (51.8%), and 2 cases of severe inflammation (2.4%) in the control group (P <0.05). Compared with the baseline, both the experimental and control groups showed significant improvement at 4 weeks after surgery in IPSS (22.20±4.14 vs 4.26±2.64 and 23.05±4.11 vs 7.02±4.15, P <0.05) and QoL scores (4.33±0.83 vs 1.25±1.64 and 4.25±0.91 vs 2.05±1.95, P <0.05). CONCLUSIONS TRUSC-guided administration of traditional Chinese medicine can significantly alleviate histological inflammation and improve QoL in men with small-size BPH and LUTS after TURP.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; Humans ; Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms ; drug therapy ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Prostatitis ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Quality of Life ; Transurethral Resection of Prostate ; Treatment Outcome ; Ultrasonography, Interventional ; methods

Objective: To investigate the expressions of glutathione S-transferase (GSTP1) and tetra-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) in prostate cancer (PCa) and their clinical significance. METHODS: We determined the expressions of GSTP1 and 4-HNE in 40 patients with PCa and another 42 with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) by immunohistochemistry and analyzed their relationship with Gleason grades. RESULTS: The expression rate of GSTP1 was 92.9% in the BPH tissue, and those in the highly, moderately, and lowly differentiated PCa tissues were 58.3%, 20.0%, and 16.7%, respectively, significantly higher in the BPH than in the PCa group (P <0.01). However, the positive rate of 4-HNE was only 5.0% in the BPH tissue, markedly lower than 91.6%, 100.0%, and 100.0% in the highly, moderately, and lowly differentiated PCa tissues (P <0.01). There was a negative correlation between the expression of GSTP1 and that of 4-HNE in the PCa tissue (r = －2.73, P <0.01). CONCLUSIONS Expression deletion of GSTP1 and high expression of 4-HNE may play an important role in the progression of prostate cancer.
Aldehydes ; metabolism ; Disease Progression ; Glutathione S-Transferase pi ; metabolism ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Male ; Neoplasm Grading ; Neoplasm Proteins ; metabolism ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; metabolism ; pathology ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology

Objective: To investigate the expressions of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and p-ERK in benign and malignant prostate tissues, and whether it can be used as a marker for the prognosis of advanced prostate cancer (PCa). METHODS: Using immunohistochemical Envision, we detected the expressions of ERK1/2 and p-ERK1/2 in 20 cases of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and 40 cases of advanced PCa and analyzed their correlation with PCa metastasis, Gleason score, PSA level, and prognosis. RESULTS: The expression of ERK1/2 was remarkably higher in the advanced PCa than in the BPH cases (82.5% vs 55%, P<0.05), which was not associated with cancer metastasis, Gleason score, PSA level, or survival time of the patients with advanced PCa, and so was that of p-ERK1/2 (75.0% vs 35%, P<0.05), which was not associated with the Gleason score or PSA level of the PCa patients, either. The expression rates of p-ERK in the metastasis, non-metastasis, survival >5 yr, and survival ≤ 5 yr groups were 61.9%, 89.5%, 57.9%, and 90.5%, respectively, with statistically significant differences among these groups (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS ERK1/2 and p-ERK1/2 proteins are highly expressed in advanced PCa and p-ERK1/2 is associated with the metastasis and prognosis of advanced PCa.
Biomarkers, Tumor ; metabolism ; Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases ; metabolism ; Humans ; Male ; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1 ; metabolism ; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3 ; metabolism ; Neoplasm Grading ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prognosis ; Prostate ; enzymology ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; metabolism ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; enzymology ; pathology ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; enzymology ; mortality ; pathology

Objective: To explore the effects of Kudzu Root plus Cinnamon Granules (KR+C) on prostatic hyperplasia (PH) in mice. METHODS: Sixty 4-week-old Kunming male mice were randomly divided into six groups: blank control, PH model, high-, medium- and low-dose KR+C, and finasteride control. All the mice except those in the blank control group were subcutaneously injected with testosterone propionate (5 mg / ［kg·d］) at 7 days after surgical castration. The animals of different groups were treated intragastrically with different doses of KR+C, finasteride, and normal saline respectively for 3 weeks and then sacrificed for weighing of the prostate, calculation of the prostatic index, observation of the morphological changes in the prostate after HE staining, determination of the expressions of FGF2, Ki67 and TGF-β1 by immunohistochemistry, detection of 5α-reductase activity by ELISA, and measurement of the apoptosis index of the prostatic cells by TUNEL. RESULTS: Compared with the model controls, the mice of the other groups showed significantly reduced prostatic volume (P <0.05), prostatic index (P <0.05), expressions of FGF2, Ki67 and TGF-β1, and activity of 5 α-reductase (P <0.05), but remarkably increased apoptosis index of the prostatic cells (P <0.05). However, no statistically significant differences were observed in the above parameters between the finasteride control and the three KR+C groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS KR+C can reduce the prostatic volume of PH mice by decreasing the activity of 5α- reductase, inhibiting the expressions of FGF2, Ki67 and TGF-β1, and promoting the apoptosis of prostatic cells.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; Cholestenone 5 alpha-Reductase ; metabolism ; Cinnamomum zeylanicum ; chemistry ; Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 ; metabolism ; Finasteride ; therapeutic use ; In Situ Nick-End Labeling ; Ki-67 Antigen ; metabolism ; Male ; Mice ; Organ Size ; Phytotherapy ; methods ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; Prostate ; pathology ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; pathology ; Pueraria ; chemistry ; Random Allocation ; Testosterone Propionate ; administration & dosage ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; metabolism ; Urological Agents ; therapeutic use

Objective: To investigate the correlation of prostatic parameters of transrectal ultrasonography with age in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and the patterns of prostatic enlargement in different age groups of the patients. METHODS: We retrospectively studied the reports of transrectal ultrasonography for 1 739 outpatients with BPH from January 2010 to December 2015, who were divided into four age groups, 50－59, 60－69, 70－79, and =≥80 years. We analyzed the patterns of prostatic enlargement in different age groups. RESULTS: The transrectal ultrasonographic prostatic parameters, most significantly the transitional zone index (TZI), of the BPH patients were positively correlated with age. And the prostatic parameters were gradually increased with aging, with statistically significant differences among different age groups (P <0.05). The prostate was enlarged most quickly between 50 and 69 years of age. CONCLUSIONS There is a positive correlation between age and prostatic parameters of transrectal ultrasonography, particularly the transitional zone index, in patients with BPH, which indicates that TZI can serve as one of the best criteria in evaluating BPH. The volume of the prostate, especially that of the transitional zone, is increased with aging, reaching the peak between 50 and 69 years, which is of great significance for further study of the development and progression of BPH.
Age Factors ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Disease Progression ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Organ Size ; Prostate ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Retrospective Studies ; Ultrasonography ; methods

Objective: To investigate the expressions of JNK and p-JNK in advanced prostate cancer (PCa) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and their implications. METHODS: Using immunohistochemistry, we detected the expressions of JNK and p-JNK proteins in 40 cases of paraffin wax-embedded PCa and 21 cases of BPH tissues and analyzed their relationships with advanced PCa and BPH as well as with the pathologic features of advanced PCa. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences were not found in the positive expression rate of the JNK protein between BPH and PCa (42.86% vs 52.50%, P>0.05), non-metastatic and metastatic PCa (53.85% vs 51.85%, P >0.05), Gleason ≤7 and Gleason >7 (58.82% vs 47.82%, P >0.05), PSA ≤20 μg/L and PSA >20 μg/L (57.14% vs 51.52%, P >0.05), or survival >5 yr and survival ≤5 yr (60.00% vs 45.00%, P >0.05), nor in the expression level of p-JNK between BPH and PCa (33.33% vs 35.00%, P >0.05), non-metastatic and metastatic PCa (30.77% vs 37.03%, P >0.05), Gleason ≤7 and Gleason >7 (35.29% vs 34.78%, P >0.05), or PSA ≤20 μg/L and PSA >20 μg/L (43.75% vs 10.93%, P >0.05). However, the expression of p-JNK was significantly higher in the survival >5 yr than in the survival ≤5 yr group of the PCa patients (50.00% vs 20.00%, P <0.05). CONCLUSIONS PCa patients with highly expressed p-JNK have a longer survival time and the high positive rate of p-JNK is associated with the prognosis of PCa.
Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases ; metabolism ; Male ; Neoplasm Grading ; Neoplasm Proteins ; metabolism ; Prognosis ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; metabolism ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; enzymology ; mortality ; pathology ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; enzymology ; mortality ; pathology