Effect of Shengjiang Tonglong Prescription Hollow Suppository on Rats with Prostatic Hyperplasia Based on PI3K/Akt Signaling Pathway / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of Shengjiang Tonglong prescription hollow suppository on rats with prostate hyperplasia， and the effect of the proteins related to phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B （PI3K/Akt） signaling pathway in the prostate， thus exploring the mechanism of Shengjiang Tonglong prescription hollow suppository in the treatment of rats with prostate hyperplasia. MethodTen SD male rats were randomly selected from 60 SD male rats to form a sham operation control group， and the rest rats were subcutaneously injected with testosterone propionate for 4 consecutive weeks after castration to induce the rat model of prostatic hyperplasia. According to the random number table method， the 50 rats were randomly divided into a model group， a finasteride group （0.45 mg·kg-1）， and three high， middle， and low-dose Shengjiang Tonglong prescription hollow suppository groups （3.98， 1.99， 0.99 g·kg-1）， with ten rats in each group. After castration for 7 d， the sham operation control group and the model group used the blank hollow suppositories， and the finasteride group and the Shengjiang Tonglong prescription hollow suppository groups used the corresponding hollow suppositories. The drugs were given to the rats by anal plugs continuously for 28 d. The rats were then killed， and the prostate tissues were separated and weighed to observe the effects of drugs on the prostate index of rats in each group. The hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining was used for the pathological observation of the prostate tissues. The level of dihydrotestosterone （DHT） was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. Western blot was used to detect the expression levels of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway protein， B-cell lymphoma-2 （Bcl-2）， cysteine aspartate-specific protease-3 （Caspase-3）， Bcl-2-associated X protein （Bax）， and αB-crystallin （CRYAB） protein in the prostate tissues. ResultAs compared with the sham operation control group， the protein expression levels of prostate index， DHT level， CRYAB， Bcl-2， PI3K， and Akt in the model group were increased， and the protein expression levels of Caspase-3 and Bax were decreased （P<0.05， P<0.01）. As compared with the model group， the prostate index in the high-dose Shengjiang Tonglong prescription hollow suppository group was decreased （P<0.05）， and the level of DHT and the protein expression levels of CRYAB， Bcl-2， PI3K， and Akt in the prostate of the Shengjiang Tonglong prescription hollow suppository groups were decreased， and the protein expression levels of Caspase-3 and Bax were increased （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionShengjiang Tonglong prescription hollow suppository decreases the expression of CRYAB protein， negatively regulates the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway， down-regulates the level of DHT and the protein expression levels of Bcl-2， PI3K， and Akt， and up-regulates the protein expression levels of Caspase-3 and Bax， thereby inhibiting cell proliferation and promoting cell apoptosis， which plays a therapeutic role in the benign prostate hyperplasia （BPH）. The high-dose Shengjiang Tonglong prescription hollow suppository significantly improves prostatic hyperplasia in rats.