Figure 3.

Schematic representation of mechanism involved in BPH. Anti-androgenic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and pro-apoptotic mechanisms of PSs. PS: phytosterols, ES: estrogen, T: testosterone, DHT: dihydrotestosterone, Bcl-2: B-cell lymphoma 2, Bax: Bcl-2- associated X protein, ERK: extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase, JNK: Jun N-terminal Kinase, EGF: epidermal growth factor, TGF-β: transforming growth factor β, PP2A: phosphatase A, 5-αR: 5α-reductase, COX-2: cyclooxygenase-2, iNOS: inducible nitric oxide synthase, RTK: receptor tyrosine kinase, TGFBR: TGF-β receptor, ROS: reactive oxygen species; PG: prostaglandins; Akt: protein kinase B; SPh: sphingomyelin; Sph-synthase: sphingomyelin synthase.