[3H]thymidine uptake by the epididymis, seminal vesicles and prostate gland during postnatal development of the rat

1991 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 313 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Sujarit ◽  
RC Jones

The uptake of [3H]thymidine by the epididymis, ventral prostate gland and seminal vesicles was determined in vivo for rats aged 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 45 and 55 days. The pattern of uptake varied considerably between organs and generally was different from patterns of growth measured as mass or ratio of mass of DNA:tissue. The 'initial segment' of the epididymis and caput and corpus epididymidis showed a similar pattern of [3H]thymidine uptake, being greatest in 15-day-old animals and declining thereafter. On Day 15 the cauda epididymidis had a lower uptake than more proximal regions of the epididymis, but it subsequently showed two significant peaks of increased uptake on Days 25-30 and Day 45. The uptake by the seminal vesicles was high on Day 15, fell to low levels on Day 20, increased considerably from Days 20 to 35, then gradually decreased from Day 35 to 55. The uptake by the prostate gland was a little lower than by the seminal vesicles on Days 15 and 20, then reduced to about the same level as non-reproductive tissues.

1969 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 323-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. I. P. MAINWARING

SUMMARY The specificity of the binding of [1,2-3H]testosterone to nuclei of various rat tissues in vivo has been studied. A significant amount of radioactivity was retained in the nuclei of androgen-dependent tissues only, particularly the ventral prostate gland. The bound radioactivity was only partially recovered as [1,2-3H]testosterone; the remainder was identified as [3H]5α-dihydrotestosterone. Efforts were made to characterize the binding component, or 'receptor', in prostatic nuclei. On digestion of nuclei labelled in vivo with [1,2-3H]testosterone, with enzymes of narrow substrate specificity, only trypsin released tritium, suggesting that the receptor is a protein. On the basis of subfractionation studies of labelled nuclei, the receptor is an acidic protein. The androgen—receptor complex could be effectively extracted from the prostatic nuclei in 1 m-NaCl and from the results of fractionations on a calibrated agarose column, the complex has a molecular weight 100,000–120,000. The specificity of the binding of steroids to such 1 m-NaCl extracts in vitro was investigated by the equilibrium dialysis procedure. Under these conditions, the specificity of the binding of [1,2-3H]testosterone demonstrated in vivo could not be simulated. The receptor is probably part of the chromatin complex but its precise intranuclear localization cannot be determined by biochemical procedures alone.


1974 ◽  
Vol 137 (3) ◽  
pp. 513-524 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Ian P. Mainwaring ◽  
Peter A. Wilce ◽  
Allan E. Smith

1. When prostate polyribosomes are labelled with radioactive precursors in vivo and subsequently dissociated with sodium dodecyl sulphate, a heterogeneous 6–15S RNA species may be identified that possesses all of the distinctive properties of mRNA. 2. Apart from the selective incorporation of 5′-fluoro-orotic acid into this 6–15S RNA component, it is bound by nitrocellulose filters under experimental conditions where only poly(A)-rich species of RNA are specifically retained. Most importantly, however, only the 6–15S RNA fraction is capable of promoting the incorporation of amino acids into peptide linkage in an mRNA-depleted cell-free system derived from ascites-tumour cells. 3. With the development of a simpler method for labelling the total RNA fraction of the prostate gland in vitro, the poly(A)-enriched RNA fraction may be readily isolated by adsorption and elution from oligo(dT)-cellulose. The synthesis of the poly(A)-enriched 6–15S RNA fraction is stringently controlled by androgens in a highly tissue- and steroid-specific manner. 4. From an analysis of the proteins synthesized in the ascites cell-free system in the presence of the poly(A)-rich RNA fraction, it appears that protein synthesis in the prostate gland is stimulated in a rather general way, even during the earliest phases of the androgenic response. This conclusion may require modification when more specific means of analysis are available than those used in the present investigation. 5. The implications of these findings to the mechanism of action of androgens are discussed.


1970 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kjell J. Tveter

ABSTRACT The distribution of radioactive material in the prostate gland and the seminal vesicles has been studied by autoradiography after intramuscular administration of [1,2-3H] testosterone in vivo to adult castrated male rats. Positive autoradiographs were obtained from 7½ min to 8 h after the administration. As early as after 15 min, there appeared to be a selective localization of radioactivity in the epithelial cells, with much of the labelling associated with the nuclei; the stromal labelling was markedly less. This picture was even more significant ½, 1 and 2 h after the injection, when the autoradiographs demonstrated a preferential labelling of the nuclei of the epithelial cells. A distinct labelling of the epithelial cells was also found 8 h after the injection. The same qualitative pattern of distribution of radioactivity was seen in the four prostatic lobes and the seminal vesicles. No significant labelling of the secretions in the glandular lumina was observed.


1975 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. J. KEENAN ◽  
J. A. THOMAS

SUMMARY In 5-day experiments, neither bovine prolactin (300 or 600 i.u./kg) nor ovine growth hormone (25 i.u./kg) alone significantly enhanced accessory sex organ weights in the castrated mouse. Seminal vesicle weights, and to a lesser extent anterior prostate gland weights, were augmented by the simultaneous injection of testosterone (1·5 mg/kg) daily plus prolactin or growth hormone. The effect was greater than that produced by testosterone alone. The levels of fructose in accessory sex organs used to indicate androgenic activity were similar in castrated mice receiving testosterone alone or in combination with prolactin or growth hormone. Prolactin alone did not influence uptake of [3H]testosterone by the seminal vesicles or anterior prostate gland over a 5 min period in vivo.


2005 ◽  
Vol 24 (9) ◽  
pp. 467-474
Author(s):  
Hideki Sato ◽  
Nozomu Tanji ◽  
Motomu Tsuji ◽  
Nobuyuki Terada ◽  
Kenshi Yamasaki ◽  
...  

We examined the effect of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) on the androgen-induced growth of mouse seminal vesicles (SVs) in vivo and its mechanisms. Testosterone propionate (TP) alone or with ATRA was injected daily into adult castrated BALB/c mice. Injections of ATRA significantly inhibited the TP-induced growth of SVs in terms of wet weight and DNA synthesis by a pair of SVs evaluated by [3H]thymidine uptake. The bromodeoxyuridine labelling index showed that ATRA inhibited the proliferation of both epithelial and stromal cells. Immunoreactivity for retinoic acid receptor-a was found in the basal epithelial cells. Injections of ATRA affected neither 5a-reductase activity nor the expression of mRNAs for TGF-b1, 2 and 3 and TGF-b receptor 1 and 2 in the SVs. However, androgen receptor (AR) binding assays and Western blotting revealed a decrease in AR without a change in ligand-binding affinity. The present study showed that retinoid inhibited the androgen-induced growth of mouse SVs in vivo, and suggests that a decrease in AR is one of its mechanisms.


1974 ◽  
Vol 144 (2) ◽  
pp. 413-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
W I P Mainwaring ◽  
F R Mangan ◽  
R A Irving ◽  
D A Jones

1. Aldolase was selected as a suitable marker for following the androgenic regulation of mRNA synthesis in the prostate gland. 2. Antibodies raised in rabbits against crystalline prostate aldolase were used to monitor the synthesis of this androgen-induced enzyme after hormonal stimulation of castrated animals, by using procedures in vivo and in vitro for the translation of prostate poly(A)-rich mRNA. 3. After androgenic stimulation in vivo the poly(A)-rich mRNA was isolated from the prostate gland and other tissues of castrated rats, and added to a protein-synthesizing system in vitro derived from Krebs II ascites-tumour cells. By using this approach it was found that androgens regulate the synthesis of aldolase mRNA in a highly tissue-specific manner. Stimulation of aldolase mRNA synthesis reached a maximum after 8h of androgenic treatment and then declined. 4. The androgenic control of aldolase mRNA synthesis was also investigated in vivo. After treatment of castrated animals with various steroids in vivo [35S]methionine was injected directly into the prostate gland, and labelled aldolase was selectively precipitated from isolated polyribosomes with anti-aldolase serum. The regulation of aldolase mRNA synthesis in the prostate gland was stringently steroid-specific and could only be evoked by androgens. After a single injection of testosterone, aldolase synthesis reached a maximum after 16h of hormonal stimulation and then declined. 5. Although androgens exert significant control over transcriptional processes in the prostate gland, and appear to regulate the synthesis of aldolase mRNA de novo, the possibility exists for additional means of control at the translational level of aldolase synthesis. The results are discussed in the context of the overall mechanism of action of androgens.


1972 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 285-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. J. LLOYD

SUMMARY Plasma testosterone concentration and the weights of the seminal vesicles and ventral prostate gland were measured in normal and cryptorchid Fischer rats at 3, 4·5, 7·5 and 13·5 months of age, and in normal parabionts and cryptorchid parabionts of 13·5 months of age. Testosterone was measured individually by a protein-binding method. In normal rats, all parameters rose to a maximum at 7·5 months of age, then levelled off or declined at 13·5 months of age. In cryptorchid rats, a similar pattern at a lower level was found for accessory sex gland weight, but plasma testosterone levels showed a progressive decline from an above normal level at 3 months to a subnormal level at 13·5 months of age. Cryptorchid parabionts were less responsive to gonadotrophin stimulation from union with a castrated partner than normal parabionts. The present study showed that plasma testosterone levels in normal and cryptorchid rats are age-related. It also showed that the pattern of plasma testosterone levels observed in cryptorchid rats is different from that seen in normal rats. Accessory sex gland weight is also age-related but is not a reliable index of plasma testosterone levels.


1971 ◽  
Vol 123 (4) ◽  
pp. 619-628 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. I. P. Mainwaring ◽  
F. R. Mangan ◽  
B. M. Peterken

1. By using ultrasonic treatment in media of high ionic strength, the RNA polymerase activities associated with prostatic nuclei and nucleoli can be completely solubilized. Such enzyme preparations are entirely dependent on the provision of added DNA for full activity. 2. The solubilized enzymes from the nucleolar and extranucleolar regions can be separated by ion-exchange chromatography. 3. Based on differences in the optimum DNA templates, pH optima and the effects of ammonium sulphate on the activities in vitro, Mn2+- and Mg2+-specific enzymes are associated with both the nucleolar and extranucleolar regions of prostatic nuclei. 4. Androgenic hormones administered in vivo have a particularly pronounced effect on the activity of Mg2+-dependent enzyme associated with the isolated prostatic nucleolus. 5. Time-course experiments in vivo show that androgens induce a rapid stimulation of the solubilized Mg2+-dependent nucleolar enzyme before a pronounced activation of nucleolar chromatin can be measured. 6. The implications of these findings to the mechanism of action of androgenic steroids are discussed.


1973 ◽  
Vol 134 (3) ◽  
pp. 795-805 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. I. P. Mainwaring ◽  
P. A. Wilce

1. The ribosome content of the rat ventral prostate gland is controlled by the concentrations of circulating androgens and the polyribosomal complement of the total population of ribosomes is acutely dependent on androgenic stimulation. After the administration of testosterone to castrated rats in vivo, there is a pronounced increase in the amounts of heavy (150–240S) polyribosomes. 2. These results are consistent with a pronounced increase in the mRNA and rRNA content of the prostate gland after the administration of testosterone in vivo. 3. From studies conducted both in vitro, the heavy prostate polyribosomes formed after androgenic stimulation are particularly active in protein synthesis. 4. The androgen-stimulated increase in the formation of prostate polyribosomes has a mandatory requirement for sustained RNA and protein synthesis. 5. Since the androgen-mediated increase in prostate polyribosomes may also be suppressed by the concomitant administration of certain anti-androgenic steroids in vivo, the response in polyribosome formation is probably initiated by the binding of a metabolite of testosterone, 5α-dihydrotestosterone, in the prostate gland. 6. The relevance of these findings to the pronounced increase in protein synthesis in androgen-dependent tissues after hormonal stimulation is discussed.


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