ABSTRACT
Slices of human benign prostatic hyperplasia were maintained in organ culture in the presence of [3H]- or [14C]testosterone.
Explants concentrated radioactivity from the culture medium, although this effect was depressed by the inclusion of foetal calf serum in the medium.
Testosterone was metabolised to products with chromatographic mobilities corresponding to androstanediols, androsterone, dehydroepiandrosterone, and androstanedione. The principal metabolite was identified as 5α-dihydrotestosterone, and small amounts of testosterone and androstenedione were also found.
As culture time increased from 1 to 6 days there was a diminution in the proportion of 5α-, and an increase in 17-ketometabolites, indicating a swing to a less physiological pattern of testosterone metabolism by the aging culture. Testosterone metabolism was thought to provide a sensitive index by which to evaluate changes in culture conditions.
The effect of steroid hormones on the growth pattern and RNA synthesis in human benign prostatic hyperplasia in organ culture