Therapeutic Effects of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D on the Pathological Process of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: An In Vitro Evidence

Abstract

The pathogenesis of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is extremely complicated which involving the multiple signaling pathways. The deficiency of vitamin D is an important risk factor for BPH, and exogenous vitamin D is effective for the treatment of BPH. In this study, we provided in vitro mechanical evidence of vitamin D as a treatment for BPH using BPH-1, WPMY-1, and PBMC cells. We found that 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OH D) level is decreased in BPH and closely correlated with age, prostate volume, maximum flow, international prostate symptom score, and prostate-specific antigen of the BPH patients. We further revealed that 25-OH D ameliorated TGF-β1 induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of BPH-1 cells and proliferation of WPMY-1 cells via blocking TGF-β signaling. Moreover, 25-OH D was able to block NF-κB signaling in PBMCs of BPH patients and STAT3 signaling in BPH cells to relieve inflammation. 25-OH D also protects BPH cells from inflammatory cytokines selected by PBMCs. Finally, we uncovered that 25-OH D alleviated prostate cell oxidative stress by triggering Nrf2 signaling. In conclusion, our data verified that 25-OH D regulated multiple singling pathways to restrain prostate cell EMT, proliferation, inflammation, and oxidative stress. Our study provides in vitro mechanical evidence to support clinical use of vitamin D as a treatment for BPH.

Origanum majorana L. Extract Attenuated Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia in Rat Model: Effect on Oxidative Stress, Apoptosis, and Proliferation

“…Nrf2 regulates the expression of key protective elements in BPH [ 68 ]. On the other hand, activation of Nrf2 blocks TGF-β signaling and suppresses inflammation, thereby restraining prostatic epithelial-mesenchymal transition in BPH [ 69 ]. Consistently, in this study, the antioxidative potency of O. majorana is associated with increased levels of Nrf2 and HO-1 in BPH rats treated with O. majorana at doses of 250 and 500 mg.…”