Adrenal effect on the growth of the ventral and dorsolateral prostate in castrated rats injected with oestradiol.

Abstract

ABSTRACT The growth of the ventral and dorsolateral prostate, the coagulating glands and the seminal vesicles was studied morphologically in castrated non-adrenalectomized and castrated adrenalectomized rats following injections for ten days of oestradiol benzoate. Oestradiol benzoate was given in daily doses of 0.001 mg or 0.010 mg, and to non-adrenalectomized rats also in daily doses of 0.100 mg. Oestradiol increased the weight of all the accessory reproductive organs in both the adrenalectomized and non-adrenalectomized rats. The weight increase of the dorsolateral prostate was most pronounced in the nonadrenalectomized rats. Oestradiol induced signs of secretory activity in epithelial cells of the ventral and dorsolateral prostate in the non-adrenalectomized but not in the adrenalectomized rats. The higher the dose of oestradiol the more marked was the stimulation of the epithelial growth in the ventral and dorsolateral prostate of the non-adrenalectomized rats. The growth and secretory activity observed in epithelial cells of the ventral and dorsolateral prostate of the oestradiol treated castrated non-adrenalectomized rats is assumed to be the result of the combined actions of oestradiol and adrenal steroids rather than merely the effect of an increased secretion of adrenal steroids induced by the oestradiol treatment.