Expressions of AR and AR mRNA in the separate lobes of adult rat prostate after androgen ablation and replacement / 第三军医大学学报

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the changes of androgen receptor (AR) and AR mRNA of the ventral lobe, lateral lobe part 1(LP1) and lateral lobe part 2 (LP2) in the Wistar rat prostate after androgen manipulation. Methods Healthy adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 3 groups control group(N), castration group(C) and androgen replacement group (T). In castration group, orchiectomy was performed through the scrotum. In androgen replacement group, testosterone propionate (2 5 mg/d) was injected subcutaneously for 14 d after castration. Expressions of AR and AR mRNA in the separate lobes of the adult Wistar rat prostate after androgen ablation and replacement were determined by immunohistochemistry and semi quantitative PCR. Results Different autoregulation of AR protein and mRNA was observed in the ventral lobe, LP1 and LP2 of rat prostate after androgen manipulation. In the ventral lobe and LP1, immunoreactive nuclear AR markedly decreased in staining intensity in the glandular epithelium 2 d after castration compared to that in the intact rats. Epithelial immunostaining continued to decline and was absent at day 7 and returned to normal level 3 d after testosterone replacement. There was a transient increase in AR mRNA demonstrated by RT PCR within 3 d and returned to control level within 7 d after castration in the ventral lobe and LP1 of rat prostate. In contrast, in LP2, the epithelial cells showed continued expressions of both AR protein and mRNA 14 d following androgen withdrawal. Conclusion These results suggest that there might be a different regulation of AR mediated by androgen in ventral lobe, LP1 and LP2 of rat prostate.