Nov172007_Bio_Seminar

OUR UNDERSTANDING OF BENIGHN PROSTATIC HYPERPLASIA (BPH) AT MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR LEVEL   : Harrington Library, Thelma Rice-Sproles Program Room, 1501 18th Street, Plano, TX 75074 (972) 941-7175 , 2007-11-17 15:00:00 - 2007-11-17 16:00:00

Dr. Victor K. Lin, Senior Research Scientist, Department of Urology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is common urological disorder among aging men. More than 50% of men over age of 50 are likely impacted by this disorder worldwide. The major clinical effect of BPH is constriction of the urethra. Both the irritative and obstructive symptoms impact on quality of life for patients. Furthermore, symptom severity correlates with overall health status. Although the pathogenesis of BPH has been characterized as androgen and aging dependent, its etiology is largely unclear. Development of symptomatic BPH appears related to the increased relative proportion of stromal to epithelial elements. Prostate stroma consists primarily of smooth muscle (SM) cells. SM cells in stroma have been thought to interact with glandular epithelial cells, and play a central role in regulating the prostatic hyperplastic growth during the natural history of BPH. Despite this critical role in prostate growth, little is known about the phenotypic expression, differentiation, and “post-developmental” growth regulation of the prostate SM. Other than surgical intervention, androgen ablation, α blockade, or the combination has been widely used in treating BPH symptoms. The underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms will be discussed. (for CIE Bioforum 2007) Dr. Victor Lin is currently a Senior Research Scientist in the Department of Urology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. Dr. Lin obtained his Ph.D. degree from the Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri at Columbia, Missouri. Dr. Lin conducts basic research to study lower urinary tract smooth muscle gene expression. His major research interests include lower urinary tract smooth muscle growth regulation and gene expression, molecular markers during the progression of benign prostatic hyperplasia, stroma-epithelium interaction in benign prostatic hyperplasia and bladder hypertrophy, and myogenic and neurogenic interaction in lower urinary tract smooth muscle.