# Validating Mouse Models of Prostatic Hyperplasia

> **NIH NIH P20** · ENDEAVOR HEALTH CLINICAL OPERATIONS · 2024 · $387,016

## Abstract

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH PROJECT: SUMMARY
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is common, resulting in significant morbidity, billions of dollars in annual
medical expenses, and even greater costs to the economy in lost productivity. BPH is characterized by stromal
and glandular hyperplasia, occurring focally in the transition zone of the prostate restricting urinary flow. The
underlying causes of this focal growth are still unclear. Chronic inflammation is clearly associated with BPH and
some have hypothesized a causal link, but data supporting this are limited. No comprehensive description of the
immune environment in the mouse prostate currently exists, likely due to the scarcity of prostatic inflammation
in background strains. Inadequate characterization of BPH models leaves them subject to scrutiny during the
review process, so a direct comparison of mouse models with prostatic inflammation and hyperplasia both to
one another and to human tissue is necessary to identify models appropriate to a specific research direction.
This project aims to bridge this knowledge gap by utilizing single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) to identify the
similarities between murine models and human BPH with the hypothesis that specific cell states, with
expression profiles that mirror those in human tissues, will be found in individual mouse models
indicating those aspects of human disease reflected in the model. The primary objective is to provide a
basis to select project-appropriate BPH models through a comprehensive analysis of cellular composition and
transcriptomic profiles, supplemented with measures of voiding function and histopathology. Furthermore, these
studies will provide an accessible database of cellular, pathological, and voiding function information for each
model that can be used as a benchmark and expanded by the benign urologic community. The searchable
database will be an invaluable resource for the BPH research community, providing guidance on murine model
selection and facilitating molecular and functional queries. Two Specific Aims will be pursued by a
multidisciplinary team of three early-stage investigators (ESIs). First, we will complete a comparative cellular
and functional characterization of mouse models of prostate hyperplasia. This aim will apply scRNA-seq
to individual prostate lobes of six different models of prostatic inflammation and hyperplasia, as well as immune
cell profiling for T and B cell receptor sequencing in mouse models and human BPH tissues. Histopathological
and voiding function evaluations will also be included. In the second aim, we will develop a reference database
and calculate the BPH-indicated functional distance between mouse and reference cellular populations.
This aim will provide a bioinformatic comparison of all cells between each model as well as overlay cell types
from each model to existing human scRNA-seq data to look for common cell states. Resources to make these
data available to the scientific community, as...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10951924
- **Project number:** 1P20DK140417-01
- **Recipient organization:** ENDEAVOR HEALTH CLINICAL OPERATIONS
- **Principal Investigator:** Renee E. Vickman
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $387,016
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-08-01 → 2027-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10951924

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10951924, Validating Mouse Models of Prostatic Hyperplasia (1P20DK140417-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10951924. Licensed CC0.

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