Veratrum maackii (VM), a perennial plant in the Melanthiaceae family, has anti-hypertensive, anti-cholinergic, anti-asthmatic, anti-tussive, anti-fungal, anti-melanogenesis, and anti-tumor activities. Here, we investigated the therapeutic effect of VM on benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in human normal prostate cell line (WPMY-1) and a testosterone propionate-induced BPH animal model. WPMY-1 cells were treated with VM (1-10 µg/mL) and testosterone propionate (100 nM). BPH in rats was generated via daily subcutaneous injections of testosterone propionate (3 mg/kg) dissolved in corn oil, for 4 weeks. VM (150 mg/kg) was administered daily for 4 weeks by oral gavage concurrently with the testosterone propionate. All rats were sacrificed and the prostates were dissected, weighed, and subjected to histological, immunohistochemical, and biochemical examinations. Immunoblotting experiments indicated that WPMY-1 cells treated testosterone propionate had increased expression of prostate specific antigen (PSA) and androgen receptor (AR), and treatment with VM or finasteride blocked this effect. In rat model, VM significantly reduced prostate weight, prostatic hyperplasia, prostatic levels of dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and expression of proliferation markers such as proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and cyclin D1, but increased the expression of pro-apoptotic Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax) and the cleavage of caspase-3. VM administration also suppressed the testosterone propionate-induced activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB). Our results indicate that VM effectively represses the development of testosterone propionate-induced BPH, suggesting it may be a useful treatment agent for BPH.
Biological & pharmaceutical bulletin. 2018 Nov 01 [Epub ahead of print]
Hee-Seon Park, Chang-Seob Seo, Charith Ub Wijerathne, Hye-Yun Jeong, Og-Sung Moon, Young-Won Seo, Young-Suk Won, Hwa-Young Son, Jong-Hwan Lim, Hyo-Jung Kwun
Department of Veterinary Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Chungnam National University., K-herb Research Center, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine., Laboratory Animal Resource Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology., HUONS Research Center, Hanyang University in ERICA campus.