Variation of M3 muscarinic receptor expression in different prostate tissues and its significance.

OBJECTIVE To detect the expression of the muscarinic receptor (M receptor) in different prostate tissues and analyze the role of its subtype in prostatic oncogenesis. METHODS Thirty-six cases of normal prostate and benign prostatic hyperplasia, and 8 cases of prostatic tumor, were used in this study from the Shandong University, Shandong, China, between 2003-2006. The protein expressions of M1, M2, and M3 receptors in each group were determined by Western-blotting. The gene expressions of the M3 receptor and vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF) in each group were determined by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS The protein and gene expressions of the M3 receptor in the prostatic carcinoma group were higher than that of benign prostatic hyperplasia group (p=0.0001) and normal prostate group (p=0.0001). The M3 receptor and VEGF showed positive straight-line correlations of gene expressions with the 3 groups (r=0.4999, p=0.0001). CONCLUSION The M3 receptor may have a close relationship with prostatic oncogenesis.