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Serotonin regulates prostate growth through androgen receptor modulation.

Emanuel Carvalho-DiasAlice MirandaOlga MartinhoPaulo MotaÂngela CostaCristina Nogueira-SilvaRute S MouraNatalia V AleninaMichael BaderRiccardo AutorinoEstêvão LimaJorge Correia-Pinto
Published in: Scientific reports (2017)
Aging and testosterone almost inexorably cause benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in Human males. However, etiology of BPH is largely unknown. Serotonin (5-HT) is produced by neuroendocrine prostatic cells and presents in high concentration in normal prostatic transition zone, but its function in prostate physiology is unknown. Previous evidence demonstrated that neuroendocrine cells and 5-HT are decreased in BPH compared to normal prostate. Here, we show that 5-HT is a strong negative regulator of prostate growth. In vitro, 5-HT inhibits rat prostate branching through down-regulation of androgen receptor (AR). This 5-HT's inhibitory mechanism is also present in human cells of normal prostate and BPH, namely in cell lines expressing AR when treated with testosterone. In both models, 5-HT's inhibitory mechanism was replicated by specific agonists of 5-Htr1a and 5-Htr1b. Since peripheral 5-HT production is specifically regulated by tryptophan hydroxylase 1(Tph1), we showed that Tph1 knockout mice present higher prostate mass and up-regulation of AR when compared to wild-type, whereas 5-HT treatment restored the prostate weight and AR levels. As 5-HT is decreased in BPH, we present here evidence that links 5-HT depletion to BPH etiology through modulation of AR. Serotoninergic prostate pathway should be explored as a new therapeutic target for BPH.
Keyphrases
  • benign prostatic hyperplasia
  • lower urinary tract symptoms
  • induced apoptosis
  • prostate cancer
  • body mass index
  • transcription factor
  • physical activity
  • signaling pathway
  • cell cycle arrest
  • newly diagnosed
  • body weight