Objective: To study the expression of Bcl-2 mRNA in BPH tissue and the influence of androgen.
Methods: The circulating testosterone level of BPH patients and rats was decreased by administration of medroxyprogesterone and stilbestrol as well as castration. Using RNA dot blot hybridization technic, we detected the Bcl-2mRNA expression in human BPH tissue and rat prostate under different level of androgen.
Results: The average dot IOD (integrated optical density, IOD) value ratio of the untreated patient group to the treated group was 1.71 (P < 0.01). There was an decrease of intensity of Bcl-2 mRNA expression in the latter group compared with the former group. The ratio of the normal rat prostates to the castrated rat prostates was 1.28 (P < 0.05). The Bcl-2 mRNA expression was decreased after castration.
Conclusions: The expression of Bcl-2 plays a role in the development of BPH. The decrease of prostatic cell death is important in the BPH pathogenesis. Apart from promoting the proliferation of prostatic epithelia and stroma cells, androgen might prohibit apoptosis by increasing the expression of Bcl-2 in BPH development.