EFFECT OF EXPERIMENTAL DIABETES ON RAT PROSTATE ENDOTHELIN RECEPTORS

We studied the properties of endothelin receptors in the prostate of 8 -week streptozotocin-diabetic and control rats. The density of endothe lin receptors, as determined by saturation experiments with [I-125]end othelin-1, were 95.8 +/- 5.4 and 171.3 +/- 16.7 fmol/mg of protein in control and diabetic rat prostates, respectively. The pharmacological profile of the endothelin receptors was similar in both groups and was consistent with the predominance of the endothelin ET(A) receptor sub type in the prostate. Thus, the induction of diabetes upregulates the expression of endothelin receptors in the rat prostate, but does not a lter the pharmacological profile of the receptors in these tissues.