Effect of prolactin and testosterone administration on the maintenance of ventral prostate transplants into intact or gonadectomized male and female syngeneic rats.

Abstract

The effect of testosterone propionate (TP) pellets (15 mg) and/or prolactin (50 IU/kg body weight daily X 5 i.p.) on the morphology of ventral prostates transplanted to the cleared 5th mammary fat pads of intact or castrated male hosts or into intact or ovariectomized female syngeneic hosts was investigated. The epithelial cell height and secretory activity was maintained in TP only or in TP + prolactin-supplemented intact or castrated male hosts as well as in intact or ovariectomized female hosts. Without TP implants, there was a necrosis of the prostate transplants in ovariectomized or intact female and in castrated male hosts and an atrophy of the in situ prostates in castrated male hosts. Prolactin injections alone failed to support prostatic integrity maintenance. In general, the transplants from TP + prolactin-supplemented hosts showed more active secretory epithelia than transplants from TP only.