Elevated expression of HIF-lα in actively growing prostate tissues is associated with clinical features of benign prostatic hyperplasia

BACKGROUND: Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is one of the most common diseases in middle-age or older men. Increasing evidence has shown that BPH is associated with hypoxia microenvironment. METHODS: We retrospectively collected patient data and tissue samples from fetal prostates(FP), normal prostates(NP), intra-acinar of BPH, peri-acinar of BPH, prostate cancers and sarcomas of prostate. The expression of HIF-1α, as well as VEGF was visualized by immunohistochemistry and statistically analyzed with clinical parameters. RESULTS: Expression of HIF-lα was observed in intra-acinar of BPH (69.5%), prostate cancer (85.7%) and all FPs, while NP and peri-acinar of BPH tissues were all stained negative. HIF-lα levels in FPs and the malignant tumors were higher than BPH tissues(p < 0.05), and the expression of HIF-lα in intra-acinar of BPH was higher than NP and peri-acinar of BPH (p < 0.05). The expression of HIF-lα was correlated with the weight of intra-acinar of prostate (p < 0.05). And patients with prostate weight larger that 72.45g were prone to have HIF-lα moderate-positive expression, according to the ROC curve (AUC = 0.734, 95%CI = 0.630-0.838). Moreover, the risk of acute urine retention (AUR) for HIF-lα moderate-positive patients increased significantly (OR=5.517, 95%CI = 2.434-12.504). CONCLUSIONS: HIF-lα expression is increased in highly proliferative prostate tissues and correlated with the weight of intra-acinar prostate. Moreover, HIF-lα is also an independent risk factor for AUR occurrence in BPH patients.