Abstract

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is one of the most common diseases in elderly men. BPH patients exhibit an increased risk of vertebral and hip fractures , which are most attributable to pre-existing osteoporosis . However, the relationship between BPH and osteoporosis is still unknown. Here we found that osteocytes , the most abundant bone cells , promoted BPH development by secreting exosomes . In vitro , osteocyte exosomes (OCY-Exo) directly promoted cell proliferation of a prostate epithelial cell line BPH-1 and a macrophage cell line RAW264.7, OCY-Exo also stimulated macrophage-induced proliferation of BPH-1 cells. In vivo , intramedullary injection of OCY-Exo accumulated in prostate. Intravenous administration of OCY-Exo exacerbated testosterone-induced BPH in C57BL/6J mice. Our study uncovers the role of OCY-Exo as a stimulator of BPH, suggesting a novel mechanism in bone-prostate communication.