Effect of Veratrum maackii on Testosterone Propionate-Induced Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia in Rats

• Published in: Biological & pharmaceutical bulletin Vol. 42; no. 1; pp. 1 - 9
• Main Authors: Park, Hee-Seon, Seo, Chang-Seob, Wijerathne, Charith UB, Jeong, Hye-Yun, Moon, Og-Sung, Seo, Young-Won, Won, Young-Suk, Son, Hwa-Young, Lim, Jong-Hwan, Kwun, Hyo-Jung
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan 01-01-2019; Pharmaceutical Society of Japan; Japan Science and Technology Agency
• Subjects: Androgen receptors; Animal models; Animals; Anticholinergics; Antigens; Antihypertensives; Antitumor agents; Apoptosis; Asthma; BAX protein; Bcl-2 protein; Bcl-x protein; Benign; benign prostatic hyperplasia; Caspase; Caspase-3; Cell Line; Cell Survival - drug effects; Cell Survival - physiology; Corn oil; Cyclin D1; Dihydrotestosterone; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Fungicides; Humans; Hyperplasia; Immunoblotting; Male; NF-κB protein; nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB); Plant Extracts - isolation & purification; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Plant Extracts - therapeutic use; Proliferating cell nuclear antigen; Propionic acid; Prostate; Prostatic Hyperplasia - chemically induced; Prostatic Hyperplasia - drug therapy; Prostatic Hyperplasia - pathology; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Testosterone; Testosterone propionate; Testosterone Propionate - toxicity; Treatment Outcome; Veratrum; Veratrum maackii; Weight reduction; testosterone propionate; nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB); Veratrum maackii; benign prostatic hyperplasia
• ISSN: 0918-6158; 1347-5215
• DOI: 10.1248/bpb.b18-00313

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-kappaB (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.