Immunolocalization of 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase in normal and hyperplastic ram prostates

The enzyme 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3beta-HSD) is essential in the synthesis of all steroids by cleaving dehydroepiandrosterone to androstenedione. In the present study, 3beta-HSD immunoreactivity was investigated in the prostate of Akkaraman breed rams aged older than 3 years. Five normal and five hyperplastic ram prostates were processed for immunohistochemistry. Prostate hyperplasia was determined by histopathological evaluation of 375 ram prostate and confirmed with significantly (P<0.01) increased number of cells expressing proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) immunoreactivity in the glandular epithelia. The 3beta-HSD immunoreactivity with a variable intensity and pattern of distribution was present in the glandular epithelia and endothelia of blood vessels in normal and hyperplastic ram prostates. While immunoreactivity was focally present in some glands, some sections had a homogenous distribution. The presence of 3beta-HSD immunoreactivity indicates that steroids are locally synthesized in the ram prostate. No differences in the distribution pattern of 3beta-HSD immunoreactivity and the percentage of immunoreactive cells were observed between normal and hyperplastic prostates (P>0.05), suggesting that locally produced steroids have little or no effect on the pathogenesis of the ram prostate hyperplasia which affects a very small proportion of the ram population (5 out of 375).