The Devloping Prostate: An Interaction Of Androgens And Estrogens
Purpose Androgens and estrogens modulate both fetal prostatic development and the pathophysiology of hyperplasia and cancer. Throughout life the exact time course of these interactions and their allocation to different prostatic compartments remain unclear. We investigated the presence and relationship of the androgen (AR) and both estrogen receptor subtypes (ER α,β) in fetuses, infants and adults. Material and methods 11 fetal, 5 infant, and 6 adult specimens were included. Histological sections of these prostates were morphologically analyzed. All specimens were double stained using anti-AR and anti-ER α antibodies. Additionally, 7 fetal and infant specimens were stained for the AR and ERβ. RT-PCR was done to verify the tissue expression of all receptors. Results ER α,β and AR were detectable starting from 12th week of gestation and in neoplastic tissue. RT-PCR clearly underlined those findings. Both types of the ER were found in the stroma and in the epithelium while the staining intensity and distribution was different. ER α was more densely expressed in the epithelium than in the stroma in all stages. ER β-reactivity was notably weaker but positive in the epithelial and stromal compartment. AR (epithelium) increased in the second trimester. Postnatally a decrease of AR-expression was detected. However, AR-staining intensity was strong in prostate cancer. RT-PCR verified the presence of all three receptors from the 12th gestational week on till 6 years of age. Conclusions This study outlines the different expression patterns of AR, as well as ER α and β in the human prostate. These findings may be helpful to characterize both normal and abnormal prostate development. The high abundance of ER α suggests a pivotal role along with the AR in the development of the fetal prostate and in prostate cancer formation. ER β is ubiquitous in all prostatic compartments and throughout different developmental stages rendering its relative importance difficult to assess.