Histochemical study of apoptotic epithelial cells depending on testosterone in primary cultured rat prostatic tissues

To clarify whether apoptosis can be induced in cultured rat prostatic epithelial cells, they were investigated at various time points, depending on different concentrations of testosterone. Ventral lobes of rat prostates were cultured as small pieces of tissues up to 14 days. They were examined by anti-Fas antibody immunostaining and also compared to findings revealed by in situ end-labelling (ISEL) technique. To clarify apoptotic nuclei at high resolution, the quick-freezing and deep-etching (QF-DE) method was also used, as reported before. The localization and appearance of Fas-positive cells were detected more widely and earlier than those of ISEL-positive cells, but both label-positive localizations were closely related to each other. In addition, they were detected more often in epithelial cells cultured with low testosterone concentrations. By the QF-DE method, chromatin fibers were found to be broken in spotty parts of apoptotic nuclei. We could control the concentration of testosterone in culture medium and detect the appearance of Fas antigen in cultured prostatic epithelial cells, followed by apoptotic changes. So, Fas and Fas-ligand system is one candidate for apoptosis in the prostate glands, depending on removal of hormonal testosterone.