Androgen receptor in the rat pancreas: genetic expression and steroid regulation

Androgens influence the incidence and prevalence of pancreatic cancer in humans and animal models. To our knowledge there has been molecular demonstration of the presence of neither the androgen receptor (AR) nor transcripts of the AR gene. Reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)-Southern blotting was employed for molecular detection and measurement of the androgen receptor messenger ribonucleic acid (AR mRNA) in pancreas. Total RNA obtained from pancreas, prostate, seminal vesicles, and testes of neonatal and adult male and female rats, as well as castrated males substituted with testosterone cyclopentylate, was analyzed by Northern blot technique. Positive hybridization to AR cDNA was obtained in all tissues assayed but not in the pancreas. However, a clear AR 32P cDNA hybridization signal was obtained in pancreatic tissues after cDNA synthesis using RT-PCR-Southern blotting. The levels of the AR transcripts obtained by RT-PCR in the various pancreatic samples were as follows: adult females and neonatal animals > castrated adult males > adult males > castrated adult males substituted with testosterone. These results indicated that the pancreatic tissue possessed transcriptional activity of the AR gene, although to a lesser extent than the typical androgen responsive tissues (prostate and seminal vesicles). In conclusion, transcriptional activity of the AR gene in the pancreas seemed to be modulated by the androgenic milieu in the tissue similar to that reported for the classical androgen-responsive organs.