Protective Effect of Hydroxyfasudil, a Rho Kinase Inhibitor, on Ventral Prostatic Hyperplasia in the Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat

摘要

BACKGROUND. Rho kinase (ROCK) pathway is associated with various cellular functions, such as smooth muscle contraction, inflammatory response, and cell proliferation. The spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) is commonly used genetically hypertensive rat model which develops hyperplastic morphological abnormalities in the ventral prostate. We investigated whether administration of hydroxyfasudil, a ROCK inhibitor, could reduce the levels of growth factors, inflammatory markers, and morphological abnormalities in the ventral prostate of the SHR.