Effect of prostatic growth factor, basic fibroblast growth factor, epidermal growth factor, and steroids on the proliferation of human fetal prostatic fibroblasts

• Published in: The Prostate Vol. 28; no. 6; pp. 352 - 358
• Main Authors: Luo, Daochun, Lin, Yuqin, Liu, Xianxi, Qin, Zhijie, Zhao, Chunhua, Zhang, Yuyi, Yu, Zhigang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 01.06.1996; Wiley-Liss
• Subjects: Analysis of Variance; androgen; benign prostatic hypertrophy; Biological and medical sciences; Cell Division - drug effects; Cells, Cultured; Dihydrotestosterone - pharmacology; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; Epidermal Growth Factor - pharmacology; Estradiol - pharmacology; estrogen; Fetus - cytology; Fetus - drug effects; fibroblast; Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 - pharmacology; Fibroblasts - cytology; Fibroblasts - drug effects; growth factor; Growth Substances - chemistry; Growth Substances - isolation & purification; Growth Substances - pharmacology; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Molecular Weight; Nephrology. Urinary tract diseases; prostate; Prostate - chemistry; Prostate - cytology; Prostate - drug effects; Prostate - embryology; Tumors of the urinary system; Urinary tract. Prostate gland; Human; Cell proliferation; Purification; Androgen; Cytokine; Estrogen; Basic fibroblast growth factor; Male genital system; Estradiol; Biological activity; Dihydrotestosterone; Epidermal growth factor; Polypeptide; Fetus; Sex steroid hormone; Fibroblast; Prostate; Growth factor
• ISSN: 0270-4137; 1097-0045
• DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0045(199606)28:6<352::AID-PROS3>3.0.CO;2-C

To study the relationship between androgen metabolism and the pathogenesis of benign prostatic hypertrophy, we purified a growth factor from benign hyperplastic tissue of human prostates and assayed the proliferative responses of human fetal prostatic fibroblasts to the purified growth factor (hPGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), epidermal growth factor (EGF), dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and estradiol (E2). Prostatic tissue extracts were fractionated using heparin‐Sepharose chromatography. The fraction that eluted with 1.3–1.7 M NaCl contained the majority of mitogenic activity. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS/PAGE) of the lyophilyzed active fraction showed a band at 17,000 daltons. Human prostatic fibroblasts were isolated from fetal prostate and tested for their proliferative responses to hPGF, bFGF, EGF, DHT, and E2. hPGF, as well as bFGF and EGF, did increase tritiated thymidine incorporation into the cultured fibroblasts. DHT(10−7 M) had a significant stimulatory effect on cell growth in serum‐free media after 6 days of culture. E2(10−7 M) had no effect on cell proliferation. The combination of DHT and E2 showed no synergistic effect. We conclude that our purified hPGF, bFGF, and EGF promote cell growth directly, DHT indirectly, while E2 does not. The effect of DHT appears to be mediated via the increased production and/or secretion of growth factor(s). Possibly, the bFGF‐like hPGF purified from human benign hyperplastic prostatic tissue is such a mediator. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.