You have accessJournal of UrologyBenign Prostatic Hyperplasia: Basic Research1 Apr 20101406 DETECTION OF MEMBRANE ANDROGEN-BINDING SITE IN LIVING RAT PROSTATE AND EVALUATION OF ITS ROLE IN PROSTATE BLOOD FLOW REGULATION Yasuhiro Shibata, Seiji Arai, Bunzo Kashiwagi, Kazuto Ito, Seijiro Honma, and Kazuhiro Suzuki Yasuhiro ShibataYasuhiro Shibata Maebashi, Japan More articles by this author , Seiji AraiSeiji Arai Maebashi, Japan More articles by this author , Bunzo KashiwagiBunzo Kashiwagi Maebashi, Japan More articles by this author , Kazuto ItoKazuto Ito Maebashi, Japan More articles by this author , Seijiro HonmaSeijiro Honma Kawasaki, Japan More articles by this author , and Kazuhiro SuzukiKazuhiro Suzuki Maebashi, Japan More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.juro.2010.02.1098AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES Recently, the pathway of androgenic signaling, which is independent of the action initiated by the classical nuclear androgen receptor (AR), the so called non-classical action of androgen, has been reported. This action probably involved in the regulation of prostate gland function, but this involvement is not fully elucidated. In order to clarify the existence and the role of non- classical action of androgen in regulating prostate blood flow, we studied the in vivo effect of cell membrane-impermeable testosterone bound to bovine serum albumin (BSA) using rat model. METHODS Castrated adult male Wistar rats were used for the study (n=7). Under urethane anesthesia, fluorescein-isothiocyanate-BSA-testoste-rone (BSA-FITC-T) was injected intra-arterially into internal carotid artery. Prostate blood flow was continuously measured using a laser blood flowmeter. Ten minutes after the injection, the prostate gland of the rats were excised and immediately fixed under liquid nitrogen. After nuclear staining, the androgen-binding site was analyzed using a fluorescence microscope. The effect of pretreatment with anti-androgen bicalutamide (BICA) was also evaluated. RESULTS The injection of BSA-T resulted in a significant increase in the prostate blood flow and the increase of the prostate blood flow occurred within minutes after the injection. The increase in prostate blood flow was inhibited by pretreatment with BICA (figure). Fluorescence microscopy of the specimen demonstrated the widespread distribution of the FITC- BSA-T binding site along the cell membrane of the prostate gland. This binding site was absent in the bladder specimen. CONCLUSIONS The existence of the membrane androgen-binding site in the prostate gland and the immediate effect of membrane-impermeable androgen on prostate blood flow clearly demonstrated the participation of the activation induced via the membrane androgen-binding site in prostate blood flow regulation. This finding strongly suggests that androgen regulates prostate blood flow partly via non- classical signal transduction pathway. © 2010 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 183Issue 4SApril 2010Page: e542-e543 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2010 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.MetricsAuthor Information Yasuhiro Shibata Maebashi, Japan More articles by this author Seiji Arai Maebashi, Japan More articles by this author Bunzo Kashiwagi Maebashi, Japan More articles by this author Kazuto Ito Maebashi, Japan More articles by this author Seijiro Honma Kawasaki, Japan More articles by this author Kazuhiro Suzuki Maebashi, Japan More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement Advertisement PDF downloadLoading ...