Androgen receptor content of the normal and hyperplastic canine prostate

A procedure was developed for measurement of androgen receptors in cytoplasmic extracts of prostates from intact dogs. The protocol utilized exchange saturation analysis at 15 degrees C employing the synthetic androgen R1881 (17beta-hydroxy-17alpha-methylestra-4,9,11-trien-3-one) as the ligand probe and quantitatively detected total cytoplasmic androgen receptor (R(c), androgen-free receptor, and R(c)A, androgen-occupied receptor) present at the initiation of the assay. This protocol was employed in conjunction with a tissue mince saturation analysis procedure (for quantitation of nuclear androgen receptor) to quantitate total androgen receptor content of normal and hyperplastic prostates obtained from young (2.5- or 4.6-yr old) and aged (12.5-yr old) purebred dogs of known birth date. The total cytoplasmic androgen receptor content (picomoles per prostate) of hyperplastic prostates was 4.6-fold greater than that of normal prostates. The total nuclear androgen receptor content of hyperplastic prostates (picomoles per prostate measured in crude nuclear preparations) was either 5.0- (4.6-yr-old dogs) or 7.8-fold (2.5-yr-old dogs) greater than that of normal prostates. However, androgen receptor content per cell was identical for hyperplastic and normal canine prostates, with the exception that nuclear androgen receptor was diminished in prostates from 2.5-yr-old dogs. The cell content per gram dry weight was identical for hyperplastic and normal canine prostates. We conclude that canine prostate hyperplasia is characterized by coordinate proliferation of androgen receptor-positive and androgen receptor-negative cells and is not a consequence of increased accumulation of 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone due to proliferation of androgen receptors per prostate cell.