Inhibin and activin are members of the transforming growth factor beta (TGF beta) family which can regulate cell proliferation in a number of tissues. The presence of inhibins and the related proteins, activins, in the prostate has been implicated by the detection of activin type II receptors. The aim of this study was to determine whether or not immunoactive (ir) inhibin and ir-activin are present in the rat prostate and to study the acute regulation by androgens. The results showed that mRNAs for the alpha and beta inhibin subunits were detected in rat prostate by reverse transcription-PCR together with ir-inhibin and ir-activin in prostate cytosols. The levels of ir-activin in the prostate (223 +/- 44 ng/gland) were greater than the levels of ir-inhibin (6.89 ng/gland), and activin immunoreactivity was localised to the epithelial cells. The presence of these proteins and the subunit mRNAs suggests that these proteins are produced in the prostate and may have a role in prostate function. The study of the effect of androgen withdrawal on the levels of ir-activin and ir-inhibin in these tissues showed no change in the content of ir-inhibin or ir-activin (ng/g tissue) after 3 days of castration or following the administration of the cytotoxic drug ethane dimethane sulphonate (EDS), although there was a significant (P < 0.01) decline in prostate weight. Fourteen days after EDS treatment, as the prostate weight fell significantly lower, the amount of ir-inhibin and ir-activin per prostate gland was significantly (P < 0.01) reduced although the concentration was unaffected. These data demonstrate, for the first time, that inhibin alpha and beta subunit mRNA and ir-inhibin and ir-activin are present in the prostate; the role of these proteins in prostate function remains to be established.
An investigation of structural asymmetry in the avian brain was conducted on the epithalamic medial habenular nucleus of the chicken. Twelve male and ten female two-day-old chickens were used for a morphometric evaluation of asymmetry. The medial habenular nucleus was measured from paraffin-wax-embedded, 8 micron-thick sections by use of a semiautomatic image analyser. The volumes of the right and left medial habenula of each animal were statistically analysed ('within animal experimental design'). The right medial habenula in males showed significant group asymmetry. In contrast, females failed to demonstrate group bias in favour of either hemisphere. However, individual females were lateralised, with either a larger right or left medial habenula. Although individuals of both sexes were lateralised, there was no significant sex difference in volume in either the right or left medial habenula. We propose that sex-linked structural asymmetry may be influenced by steroid hormonal effects in the central nervous system, and that such asymmetry could be more prevalent in the non-mammalian vertebrate brain than previously considered.
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