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Changes in Hormone Sensitivity in the Ventral Prostate of Aging Sprague-Dawley Rats

COLM MORRISSEY^*,

AMY MOQUIN

From the ^* Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana; the Cell and Molecular Biology Program, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; and the Trudeau Institute, Saranac Lake, New York.

Correspondence to: Dr Colm Morrissey, Department of Surgery, Mater Misercordiae Hospital, 47 Eccles St, Dublin 7, Ireland (e-mail: colm.morrissey.14{at}nd.edu ).

The adult rat ventral prostate, which has been used extensively as a model for hormone-dependent prostate cancer, is composed of hormone-dependent columnar secretory epithelial cells and a mixture of hormone-independent cuboidal epithelial cells, basal epithelial cells, and stromal cells. Androgen ablation causes the gland to regress due to the selective loss of the secretory luminal epithelial cells that undergo apoptosis. Most, if not all, of the studies examining the induction of apoptosis and the mechanism of regression have used young adult males at around 3 months of age. Prostate cancer, however, is a disease of older males, and we have therefore investigated whether age-related changes in hormone sensitivity and apoptosis occur in the ventral prostate of aged animals (12 months old) compared to young animals (3 months old). We have observed distinct differences in the morphology of the prostate between young and old rats prior to castration and a significant slowing in the rate of regression after castration in older animals. These changes are accompanied by changes in lipofuscin accumulation and levels of the antioxidant enzymes catalase and manganese (Mn) superoxide dismutase in the gland.

     Key words: Lipofuscin, antioxidants, stroma, age, hormone-dependent regression, apoptosis

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