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Testosterone is often recommended in the treatment of several aging-related conditions. However, there are still questions about the consequences of this therapy in terms of hormonal and inflammatory parameters that are crucial for prostate homeostasis. Thus, we investigate if the testosterone therapy (TT) modulates the hormone receptors and inflammatory cytokines in the ventral prostate of adult rats. Wistar rats aging 150 days were divided into two experimental groups (n = 10/group): T: received subcutaneous injections of testosterone cypionate (5 mg/kg body weight) diluted in corn oil every other day for 4 weeks; and C: received corn oil as vehicle. Animals were euthanized at 180 days old by decapitation. Blood was collected to obtain hormone and cytokines concentrations. The ventral prostate was dissected and processed for light microscope and molecular analyses. Relative ventral prostate weight and epithelial compartment were increased after TT. The number of intact and degranulated mast cells was reduced in the T group. Plasma testosterone, DHT and intraprostatic testosterone concentrations were higher in the T group. TT leads to an increase in cell proliferation and up-regulation of AR, ERβ, PAR-4, and NRF2. Importantly, plasma concentration and tissue expression of IL-10 and TNF-α were higher after TT. In summary, these results indicate that TT can regulate inflammatory response, with impacts in cytokines and mast cell population, and modulates steroids receptors, important parameters for prostatic homeostasis., (© 2018 International Federation for Cell Biology.)

Zinc is important for cell physiology and alteration of its levels during development can modulate a series of biological events. The aim of this study was to investigate whether dietary zinc deficiency or supplementation during morphogenesis and early postnatal development could interfere in prostate maturation. Pregnant rats were exposed to a standard diet (NZ:35 mg Zn/kg chow), low-zinc diet (LZ:3 mg of Zn/kg chow) and zinc-supplemented diet (HZ:180 mg/Kg chow) from gestational day 10 (GD10) through postnatal day 21 (PND21). After weaning, male offspring were divided into three groups that were submitted to the same food conditions as their mothers until PND53. The animals were euthanized at PND53 and PND115. The ventral prostate was removed, weighed and its fragments were subjected to histological, western blot and zymography analysis. PND53: body and prostate weight were lower in LZ compared to NZ; the epithelial compartment was reduced while the stromal compartment was increased in LZ compared to NZ; there was an increase in the amount of collagen and reduction in AR and SIRT1 expression in LZ compared to NZ. PND115: body weight was lower in LZ compared to NZ and prostate weight was similar among the groups; peripheral physiological hyperplasia was observed, as well as an increased epithelial proliferation index and reduced PAR4 expression in LZ and HZ compared to NZ. Zinc deficiency during prostate morphogenesis and differentiation is potentially harmful to its morphology, however, by restoring the standard dietary environment, the gland responds to the new microenvironment independent of the previous dietary condition., (© 2017 International Federation for Cell Biology.)

Estrogen seems to have an essential role in the fibromuscular growth characteristic of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). This paper describes the effects of chronic estradiol treatment on Guinea pig prostatic stroma at different ages. Tissues from experimental animals were studied by histological and histochemical procedures, morphometric-stereological analysis and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Marked fibromuscular hypertrophy was observed after estradiol treatment in animals of pre-pubertal and adult ages. Increases in the density and thickness of the collagen and elastic fibers were observed by histochemistry. TEM revealed wide distributions of collagen fibrils and large elastic fibers adjacent to the epithelial basal lamina and between the stromal cells, establishing contacts between them. These results indicate that the Guinea pig prostate simulates the stromal modifications observed in BPH in some aged animals after estrogen treatment at different ages, making it a good model for this disease.