NEUROENDOCRINE CELLS IN THE PROSTATE OF THE RAT, GUINEA-PIG, CAT, ANDDOG

BACKGROUND. The neuroendocrine (NE) cells in the human prostate gland probably have a local regulatory role in both prostatic growth and dif ferentiation as well as in the exocrine secretory process. Moreover, N E cells may be involved in the pathogenesis of both prostatic cancer a nd hyperplasia. To enhance the knowledge of the physiological and path ophysiological role of NE cells in the prostate gland, we wanted to es tablish an experimental animal model. METHODS. All lobes of the prosta tic complex of rats with different serum levels of testosterone, as we ll as the prostate of the guinea pig, cat, and dog, were studied. Pros tatic tissue fixed in different fixatives was studied with regard to N E cells by using cytochemical and immunohistochemical staining techniq ues, as well as Northern blotting and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for detection of rat chromogranin A (CgA) mRN A. RESULTS. The present study indicates the absence of NE cells in the rat prostatic complex. No expression of CgA RNA was detectable either by Northern blotting or by RT-PCR. Only a few argyrophil cells in the prostatic complex of guinea pig were detected in tissue fixed in Boui n's solution. CONCLUSIONS. Rat, guinea pig, cat, and dog are not suita ble animals in physiological studies of NE cells in the prostate gland . (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.