Cyclooxygenase-2 activates EGFR-ERK1/2 pathway via PGE2-mediated ADAM-17 signaling in testosterone-induced benign prostatic hyperplasia

Breaking the scar barrier: The anti-fibrotic and hemodynamic benefits of total salvianolic acid in hypertrophic scars

Hypertrophic scars (HS) affect up to 70 % of individuals following deep dermal injuries, burns, or surgical procedures, leading to significant functional impairments and psychological distress. Despite their high prevalence, effective therapeutic options remain limited, and the underlying pathophysiology is not fully elucidated. This study integrates network pharmacology, molecular docking, and in vivo experimentation to investigate the therapeutic potential of total salvianolic acid (TSA) from Salvia miltiorrhiza in HS treatment. A systematic pharmacology approach identified 186 target proteins, highlighting TGF-β1, Smad3, IL-2, and IL-4 as key modulators of fibrosis and inflammation. Molecular docking confirmed high-affinity interactions between TSA's active components and these targets. TSA significantly reduced scar elevation, fibrosis, and collagen deposition in a rabbit ear hypertrophic scar model, restoring tissue architecture and improving hemorheological parameters. Histological and immunohistochemical analyses confirmed TSA's ability to suppress TGF-β/Smad signaling, downregulate inflammatory cytokines and normalize collagen dynamics. These findings provide compelling evidence that TSA is a multi-targeted, pharmacologically active compound with promising anti-fibrotic and microcirculatory benefits, paving the way for novel therapeutic strategies in HS management. This study establishes a scientific foundation for TSA-based interventions, with potential clinical implications in regenerative medicine and scar therapy.

Protective Effects of Niclosamide Ethanolamine Against Testosterone-Induced Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia in Rats

Benign prostatic hyperplasia is a common urological condition in aging men. The anthelmintic agent niclosamide ethanolamide exhibits a wide range of pharmacological activities. This study aimed to evaluate the protective effect of niclosamide ethanolamide in testosterone propionate-induced benign prostatic hyperplasia in rats along with elucidating the probable mechanism of action by investigating the influence on PPAR-γ and Wnt/β-catenin. 40 male Wistar rats were divided randomly into 4 groups. The healthy (control) group, received daily oral and subcutaneous administration of the vehicle. The Induced (TP) group, received only a daily dose of testosterone propionate 3 mg/kg, SC for 28 days. The treated groups (TP+FIN) and (TP+NE), received a concomitant administration of a daily dose of testosterone propionate along with finasteride 5 mg/kg/day and niclosamide ethanolamide 50 mg/kg/day respectively through oral gavage. Animals were euthanized on day 30 of the experiment and prostate tissue samples were collected to evaluate prostate index, prostate hyperplastic markers by ELISA, and gene expression by RT-qPCR. Results revealed that niclosamide ethanolamide significantly reduced prostate index compared to the induced (TP) group (P<0.0001). The agent nearly normalized BPH markers including 5α-reductase type-2 enzyme, dihydrotestosterone, and PCNA compared to the induced (TP) group (P<0.0001). The agent reduced the tissue level of β-catenin while elevating PPAR-γ to control levels (P<0.05). The current study revealed that NE can help prevent BPH in rats by upregulating the PPAR-γ receptor and inhibiting the Wnt pathway.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia genetic variants in Asians

The global prevalence of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is increasing annually, with a notably higher incidence in Asian populations. This condition can increase the risk of developing prostate cancer 2- to 12-fold, underscoring the critical need for comprehensive clinical guidelines and appropriate risk stratification testing. This review is the first to address the gap by focusing on genetic screening for risk stratification in Asians, followed by the development of pathophysiology based on the genetic variants identified. For example, the CYP17 gene, which plays a crucial role in testosterone synthesis and BPH progression, includes the CYP17 rs743572 C allele, a genetic variant that increases the risk of BPH by 1.58 times in Asians. Identifying such genetic variants can enable the tailoring of therapies to individual genetic profiles. Furthermore, this review provides new insights into the pathophysiology of BPH, suggesting that ethnicity may play a role in its progression, and explores genetic links between BPH and other diseases traditionally considered risk factors for BPH.

Nanomedicine in HNSCC therapy-a challenge to conventional therapy

Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC) is a difficult-to-treat cancer and treatment is challenging due to recurrence or metastasis. Therefore, there is an urgent need to explore more effective targeted therapies to improve the clinical outcomes and survival of HNSCC patients. The nanomedicine is emerging as a promising strategy to achieve maximal anti-tumor effect in cancer therapy. In this review, we summarize some important signaling pathways and present the current and potential roles of various nanomaterial drug-delivery formulations in HNSCC treatment, aiming to understand the pathogenesis of HNSCC and further improve the therapeutic efficacy of nanomaterial HNSCC. This article seeks to highlight the exciting potential of novel nanomaterials for targeted cancer therapy in HNSCC and thus provide motivation for further research in this field.

A genetic study to identify pathogenic mechanisms and drug targets for benign prostatic hyperplasia: a multi-omics Mendelian randomization study

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) as a common geriatric disease in urology, the incidence and prevalence are rapidly increasing with the aging society, prompting an urgent need for effective prevention and treatment of BPH. However, limited therapeutic efficacy and higher risk of complications result in the treatment of BPH remaining challenging. The unclear pathogenic mechanism also hampers further exploration of therapeutic approaches for BPH. In this study, we used multi-omics methods to integrate genomics, transcriptomics, immunomics, and metabolomics data and identify biomolecules associated with BPH. We performed transcriptomic imputation, summary data-based Mendelian randomization (SMR), joint/conditional analysis, colocalization analysis, and FOCUS to explore high-confidence genes associated with BPH in blood and prostate tissue. Subsequently, three-step SMR was used to identify the DNA methylation sites regulating high-confidence genes to improve the pathogenic pathways of BPH. We also used cis-instruments of druggable genes to conduct SMR analysis to find potential drug targets for BPH. Finally, we used MR analysis to explore the immune pathways and metabolomics related to BPH. Multiple analytical methods identified BTN3A2 (Blood: TWAS Z score = 5.02912, TWAS P = 4.93 × 10-7; Prostate: TWAS Z score = 4.89, TWAS P = 1.01 × 10-6) and C4A (Blood: TWAS Z score = 4.90754, TWAS P = 9.22 × 10-7; Prostate: TWAS Z score = 5.084, TWAS P = 3.70 × 10-7) as high-confidence genes for BPH and identified the cg14345882-BTN3A2-BPH pathogenic pathway. We also used druggable gene data to identify 30 promising therapeutic target genes, including BTN3A2 and C4A. For MR analysis of immune pathways, we identified immune cell surface molecules as well as the inflammatory factor IL-17 (OR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.09-1.43, PFDR = 0.12, Maximum likelihood) as risk factors for BPH. In addition, we found that disulfide levels of cysteinylglycine (OR = 1.11, 95% CI = 1.05-1.18, P = 5.18 × 10-4, Weighted median), oxidation levels of cysteinylglycine (OR = 1.09, 95% CI = 1.04-1.14, P = 3.87 × 10-4, Weighted median), and sebacate levels (OR = 1.05, 95% CI = 1.02-1.08, P = 3.0 × 10-4, Maximum likelihood) increase the risk of BPH. This multi-omics study explored biomolecules associated with BPH, improved the pathogenic pathways of BPH, and identified promising therapeutic targets. Our results provide evidence for future studies aimed at developing appropriate therapeutic interventions.

Wenshenqianlie capsule improves benign prostatic hyperplasia via its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects

Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects play crucial roles in the recovery of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Wenshenqianlie (WSQL) capsule, a typical traditional Chinese medicine formulation combining 14 Chinese herbs, has been reported to exert tonic effects on the kidneys and improve clinical symptoms of BPH. However, its potential antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties and effects on the improvement of hormone levels have not been reported in depth. In this study, mice were subcutaneously injected with TP (5 mg/kg·d-1) to induce BPH. Forty-eight adult BALB/c male mice were randomly allocated to six groups based on the type of drug administered by gavage: control, BPH, BPH+WSQL (40 and 80 mg/kg·d-1), BPH+finasteride (1 mg/kg·d-1), and WSQL-only treated (80 mg/kg·d-1). We investigated the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effect and mechanism of WSQL on BPH via histopathological examination, immunohistochemistry, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and western blotting combined with in vivo serum metabolomics, gut microbiomics analysis. WSQL alleviated prostate hyperplasia and reduced prostate-specific antigen, dihydrotestosterone, testosterone, and inflammation levels. Gut microbiomics and serum non-targeted metabolomics determined that the protective effect of WSQL against BPH may be related to the improvement of inflammation and testosterone-related gut microbiota and serum metabolites. Further studies showed that WSQL ameliorated nuclear factor-kappa B, its downstream inflammatory factors, and nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 pathway.

Ubiquinol attenuates γ-radiation induced coronary and aortic changes via PDGF/p38 MAPK/ICAM-1 related pathway

Endothelial vascular injury is one of the most pivotal disorders emerging during radiotherapy. It is crucial to rely on strong antioxidants to defend against vascular damage. The current study was carried out to investigate the ameliorative effect of ubiquinol (Ubq) against gamma (γ)-radiation induced aortic and coronary changes, with highlighting its role in suppression of p38 mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK). Exposure to γ-radiation was adopted as a potent detrimental model that induces vascular tissue damage. Concisely, male albino rats were irradiated at a dose level of 7 Gy and treated daily with Ubq (10 mg/kg/day, p.o.) for 7 days pre-and post-irradiation. At the end of the experiment, lipid profile, 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), gene expression of intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM-1), platelet derived growth factor (PDGF), p38 MAPK and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) were estimated. Exposure to radiation significantly deteriorates aortic and coronary tissues. Conversely, administration of Ubq significantly reduced serum t-cholesterol, LDL and triglycerides (p = 0.001). In addition, Ubq prevented oxidative DNA damage (8-OHdG) (p = 0.1) and reduced serum MMP-9 (p = 0.001) which contributed to the endothelial cells damage. The positive impact of Ubq was more apparent in suppression of both PDGF (p = 0.001) and p38 MAPK (p = 0.1) protein concentrations, leading subsequently in reduction of ICAM-1 (p = 0.001) gene expression. As a conclusion, vascular endothelial damage brought on by γ-radiation is one of the leading causes of coronary and aortic deteriorations which could be successfully mitigated by Ubq.

Diacerein provokes apoptosis, improves redox balance, and downregulates PCNA and TNF-α in a rat model of testosterone-induced benign prostatic hyperplasia: A new non-invasive approach

One of the most prevalent chronic conditions affecting older men is benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), causing severe annoyance and embarrassment to patients. The pathogenesis of BPH has been connected to epithelial proliferation, inflammation, deranged redox balance, and apoptosis. Diacerein (DIA), the anthraquinone derivative, is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. This study intended to investigate the ameliorative effect of DIA on the prostatic histology in testosterone-induced BPH in rats. BPH was experimentally induced by daily subcutaneous injection of testosterone propionate for four weeks. The treated group received DIA daily for a further two weeks after induction of BPH. Rats' body and prostate weights, serum-free testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, and PSA were evaluated. Prostatic tissue was processed for measuring redox balance and histopathological examination. The BPH group had increased body and prostate weights, serum testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, PSA, and oxidative stress. Histologically, there were marked acinar epithelial and stromal hyperplasia, inflammatory infiltrates, and increased collagen deposition. An immunohistochemical study showed an increase in the inflammatory TNF-α and the proliferative PCNA markers. Treatment with DIA markedly decreased the prostate weight and plasma hormones, improved tissue redox balance, repaired the histological changes, and increased the proapoptotic caspase 3 expression besides the substantial reduction in TNF-α and PCNA expression. In conclusion, our study underscored DIA's potential to alleviate the prostatic hyperplastic and inflammatory changes in BPH through its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative, and apoptosis-inducing effects, rendering it an effective, innovative treatment for BPH.