Aberrant Transforming Growth Factor-β Activation Recruits Mesenchymal Stem Cells During Prostatic Hyperplasia.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is the overgrowth of prostate tissues with high prevalence in older men. BPH pathogenesis is not completely understood, but it is believed to be a result of de novo overgrowth of prostatic stroma. In this study, we show that aberrant activation of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) mobilizes mesenchymal/stromal stem cells (MSCs) in circulating blood, which are recruited for the prostatic stromal hyperplasia. Elevated levels of active TGF-β were observed in both a phenylephrine-induced prostatic hyperplasia mouse model and human BPH tissues. Nestin lineage tracing revealed that 39.6% ± 6.3% of fibroblasts and 73.3% ± 4.2% smooth muscle cells were derived from nestin