The isolation, enrichment, and comparative electron microscopic characterization of cellular components of the aged...

Prostate cells were isolated from 3- and 23-month-old Sprague-Dawley rats. After sequential digestion with 0.1% collagenase at 37 degrees C, a mixed population of cells was obtained. The cells were layered on a five-step discontinuous Percoll gradient (g/ml: 1.024, 1.043, 1.048, 1.060, 1.089), centrifuged at 3,000 rpm X 30 minutes, which produced six distinct cellular subpopulations and a fibromuscular stroma (FMS). Electron microscopic characterization of the 3- and 23-month-old cellular subpopulations identified the following components, g/ml: debris and nonviable cells (1.020-1.025) nonsecretory epithelial cells (1.038-1.039), secretory epithelial cells (1.047-1.048), basal epithelial cells (1.057-1.059), differentiating epithelial cells (1.070-1.075), erythrocytes (1.085-1.089). This study demonstrates that one of the effects of age on the rat ventral prostate is an intracellular disorganization of isolated and enriched cellular components.