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The prostate response to prolactin modulation in adult castrated rats subjected to testosterone replacement

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Abstract

Despite the androgenic dependence, other hormones, growth factors, and cytokines are necessary to support prostatic growth and maintain the glandular structure; among them, prolactin is a non-steroidal hormone secreted mainly by the pituitary gland. However, extra-pituitary expression of prolactin, such as in the prostate, has also been demonstrated, highlighting the paracrine and autocrine actions of prolactin within the prostate. Here, we investigated whether prolactin modulation alters ventral prostate (VP) morphophysiology in adult castrated rats. Sprague Dawley rats were castrated and after 21 days, divided into ten experimental groups (n = 6/group): castrated control: castrated animals that did not receive treatment; castrated+testosterone: castrated animals that received T (4 mg/kg/day); castrated+PRL (PRL): castrated animals receiving prolactin (0.3 mg/kg/day); castrated+T+PRL: castrated animals that received a combination of testosterone and prolactin; and castrated+bromocriptine (BR): castrated animals that received bromocriptine (0.4 mg/kg/day). The control group included intact animals. The animals were treated for 3 or 10 consecutive days. At the end of experimental period, the animals were euthanized, and the blood and VP lobes were collected and analyzed by different methods. The main findings were that the administration of prolactin to castrated rats did not exert anabolic effects on the VP. Although we observed activation of downstream prolactin signaling after prolactin administration, this was not enough to overcome the prostatic androgen deficiency. Likewise, there was no additional glandular involution in the castrated group treated with bromocriptine. We concluded that despite stimulating the downstream signaling pathway, exogenous prolactin does not act on VP in the absence or presence of high levels of testosterone.

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Acknowledgements

This manuscript comprises part of the Mater’s degree of FBC. This study was supported by São Paulo Research Foundation, Grant No. 2013/24230-5, Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) and UNESP.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Morphology, Institute of Biosciences, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil

    Flávia B. Constantino, Ana C. L. Camargo, Sérgio A. A. Santos, Ketlin T. Colombelli, Sérgio L. Felisbino & Luis A. Justulin

  2. Department of Pathology, Botucatu Medical School, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu, Brazil

    Laura F. Martin & Marcia G. Silva

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  1. Flávia B. Constantino
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  2. Ana C. L. Camargo
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  3. Sérgio A. A. Santos
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  8. Luis A. Justulin
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Correspondence to Luis A. Justulin.

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Constantino, F.B., Camargo, A.C.L., Santos, S.A.A. et al. The prostate response to prolactin modulation in adult castrated rats subjected to testosterone replacement. J Mol Hist 48, 403–415 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10735-017-9738-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10735-017-9738-z

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