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Asian Journal of Andrology (2009) 11: 451–459. doi: 10.1038/aja.2009.28 published online 1 June 2009.
Proliferation and phenotypic changes of stromal cells in response to varying estrogen/androgen levels in castrated rats
Ying Zhou1, Xiang-Qian Xiao1, Lin-Feng Chen2, Rui Yang1, Jian-Dang Shi1, Xiao-Ling Du1, Helmut Klocker3, Irwin Park4, Chung Lee4 and Ju Zhang1
1 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Life Sciences, Bioactive Materials Key Lab of Ministry of Education, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
2 Department of Medical Oncology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
3 Department of Urology, Innsbruck Medical University, Anichstrasse 35, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
4 The Department of Urology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
Correspondence: Ju Zhang, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Life Sciences, Bioactive Materials Key Lab of Ministry of Education, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China. Fax: +86-22-2350-1548 E-mail: zhangju@nankai.edu.cn or Shijd@nankai.edu.cn
Received 20 November 2008; Revised 30 March 2009; Accepted 9 April 2009; Published online 1 June 2009.
| Abstract |
It is known that human benign prostatic hyperplasia might arise from an estrogen/androgen (E/T) imbalance. We studied the response of castrated rat prostate to different ratios of circulating E/T. The castrated male Wistar rats were randomly injected with E/T at different ratios for 4 weeks. The prostates of E/T (1:100) group showed a distinct prostatic hyperplasia response by prostatic index, hematoxylin and eosin staining, and quantitative immunohistochemical analysis of -smooth muscle actin (SMA). In this group, cells positive for Vimentin, non-muscle myosin heavy chain (NMMHC) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) increased in the stroma and epithelium. Furthermore, the mRNA levels of smooth muscle myosin heavy chain (SMMHC) and NMMHC increased. So E/T at a ratio of 1:100 can induce a stromal hyperplastic response in the prostate of castrated rats. The main change observed was an increase of smooth muscle cells, whereas some epithelial changes were also seen in the rat prostates.
Keywords: androgens, castration, estrogen, prostatic hyperplasia, rat, stromal cells |
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