title: Oxytocin: its role in benign prostatic hyperplasia via the ERK pathway.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to evaluate oxytocin and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), and study the cell signalling mechanism. Investigation was performed in patients about the correlation between oxytocin level and BPH. Mice were injected with oxytocin or oxytocin antagonist for 2 weeks and the prostate morphology was studied after their sacrifice. Furthermore,in vitroexperiments were performed to evaluate the oxytocin effect through the MEK/ERK/RSK pathway. Oxytocin was significantly elevated in the serum and prostate tissue of patients with BPH, and a positive correlation with prostate volume indicated. In the animal experiments, prostate enlargement was observed in the oxytocin-treated group, whereas oxytocin antagonist reduced prostate hyperplasia. Thein vitrostudy confirmed this result and also revealed activation of the MEK/ERK/RSK pathway. Oxytocin is highly expressed in the serum and prostate tissue of patients with BPH. In addition, oxytocin aggravates BPH and the oxytocin-induced proliferative effect on prostatic cells is mediated through the MEK/ERK/RSK pathway, at least partly. Thus, the hypothalamic regulation may be involved in development of BPH, which may open a new door to more medications for BPH in the future.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, 639 Zhizaoju Road, Shanghai 200011, China.
authors.forename: Huan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, 639 Zhizaoju Road, Shanghai 200011, China.
authors.forename: Shi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, 639 Zhizaoju Road, Shanghai 200011, China.
authors.forename: Yanbo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, 639 Zhizaoju Road, Shanghai 200011, China.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, 639 Zhizaoju Road, Shanghai 200011, China.
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, 639 Zhizaoju Road, Shanghai 200011, China.
authors.forename: Chong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orthopaedic Implants, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 639 Zhizaoju Road, Shanghai 200011, China.
authors.forename: Zhiguang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Qiao
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, 639 Zhizaoju Road, Shanghai 200011, China zhongwang2000@sina.com zhoujuan0002@163.com.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, 639 Zhizaoju Road, Shanghai 200011, China zhongwang2000@sina.com zhoujuan0002@163.com.
authors.forename: Zhong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D020935:MAP Kinase Signaling System / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000502:physiology*; D011467:Prostate / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D011470:Prostatic Hyperplasia / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017154:Stromal Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D010121:Oxytocin
keywords: ERK pathway; benign prostatic hyperplasia; metabolic syndrome; oxytocin