TY - EJOU AU - SHAO, ZICHEN AU - CHEN, CHUNG-YI AU - CHEN, XUZHOU AU - CHEN, HANWU AU - SU, MENGQIAO AU - SUN, HUI AU - LI, YIDAN AU - TU, BINGHUA AU - WANG, ZITONG AU - LIU, CHI-MING TI - Capsaicin exerts anti-benign prostatic hyperplasia effects via inhibiting androgen receptor signaling pathway T2 - BIOCELL PY - 2023 VL - 47 IS - 6 SN - 1667-5746 AB - Background: Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common condition in middle-aged and elderly men. Enlargement of the prostate causes lower urinary tract symptoms. Capsaicin is a phytochemical extracted from chili peppers and exerts many pharmacological actions, such as anti-tumor and anti-inflammatory effects. Methods: Our study investigated the effect of capsaicin in vitro and in a mouse model in vivo. A prostatic stromal myofibroblast cell line (WPMY-1) was co-incubated with testosterone (1 µM) and different concentrations of capsaicin (10–100 µM) for 24 and 48 h. Capsaicin (10–100 µM) significantly inhibited testosterone-treated WPMY-1 cell growth at 48 h by MTT assay. The testosterone propionate (7.5 mg/kg)-induced BPH mouse model was used to examine the anti-proliferative effect of capsaicin. Treatment with capsaicin (10 mg/kg) for 14 days significantly attenuated prostatic hyperplasia. Finasteride was used as a positive control. Results: Capsaicin significantly decreased prostate weight and prostate index (prostate/body weight ratio) in BPH mice. The expression of 5α-reductase type II, androgen receptor (AR) and prostate specific antigen (PSA) protein expression and PSA serum were all significantly reduced in capsaicin-treated BPH mice. In addition, capsaicin also activated transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 mediated apoptosis and autophagy in BPH mice. Conclusion: These results demonstrate multiple positive effects of capsaicin in controlling prostate growth and suggest its therapeutic potential in the treatment of BPH. KW - BPH; Apoptosis; Autophagy; Capsaicin; Chili pepper; 5α-reductase DO - 10.32604/biocell.2023.028222