Changes in the Expression and Functional Activities of C-X-C Motif Chemokine Ligand 13 () in Hyperplastic Prostate.

Background: C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 13 (), a member of the CXC subtype in chemokine superfamily, affects numerous biological processes of various types of cells and the progress of a great number of clinical diseases. The purpose of the current study was to reveal the internal mechanism between and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

Methods: Human serum, prostate tissues and human prostate cell lines (BPH-1, WPMY-1) were utilized. The effect of recombinant human CXCL13 (rHuCXCL13) protein and the influences of the knockdown/overexpression of on two cell lines were studied. Rescue experiments by anti-CXCR5 were also conducted. In vivo, rHuCXCL13 was injected into the ventral prostate of rats. Additionally, a tissue microarray of hyperplastic prostate tissues was constructed to analyze the correlations between and clinical parameters.

Results: was highly expressed in the prostate tissues and upregulated in the BPH group. It was observed that modulated cell proliferation, apoptosis, and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) through CXCR5 via AKT and the ERK1/2 pathway in BPH-1, while it contributed to inflammation and fibrosis through CXCR5 via the STAT3 pathway in WPMY-1. In vivo, rHuCXCL13 induced the development of rat BPH. Additionally, was positively correlated with the prostate volume and total prostate specific antigen.

Conclusions: Our novel data demonstrated that modulated cell proliferation, cell cycle, the EMT of epithelial cells, and induced the fibrosis of prostatic stromal cells via a variety of inflammatory factors, suggesting that might be rediscovered as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of BPH.