Telocytes are interstitial cells present in the stroma of several organs, including the prostate. There is evidence that these cells are present during prostate alveologenesis, in which these cells play a relevant role, but there is no information about the presence of and possible changes in telocytes during prostate aging. Throughout aging, the prostate undergoes several spontaneous changes in the stroma that are pro-pathogenic. Our study used histochemistry, 3D reconstructions, ultrastructure and immunofluorescence to compare the adult prostate with the senile prostate of the Mongolian gerbil, in order to investigate possible changes in telocytes with senescence and a possible role for these cells in the age-associated alterations. It was found that the layers of perialveolar smooth muscle become thinner as the prostatic alveoli become more dilated during aging, and that telocytes form a network that involves smooth muscle cells, which could possibly indicate a role for telocytes in maintaining the integrity of perialveolar smooth muscles. On the other hand, with senescence, VEGF+ telocytes are seen in stroma possibly contributing to angiogenesis, together with TNFR1+ telocytes, which are associated with a pro-inflammatory microenvironment in the prostate. Together, these data indicate that telocytes are important both in understanding the aging-related changes that are seen in the prostate and also in the search for new therapeutic targets for pathologies whose frequency increases with age.

The male urogenital system is composed of the reproductive system and the urinary tract; they have an interconnected embryonic development and share one of their anatomical components, the urethra. This system has a highly complex physiology deeply interconnected with the circulatory and nervous systems, as well as being capable of adapting to environmental variations; it also undergoes changes with aging and, in the case of the reproductive system, with seasonality.The stroma is an essential component in this physiological plasticity and its complexity has increased with the description in the last decade of a new cell type, the telocyte. Several studies have demonstrated the presence of telocytes in the organs of the male urogenital system and other systems; however, their exact function is not yet known. The present review addresses current knowledge about telocytes in the urogenital system in terms of their locations, interrelationships, possible functions and pathological implications. It has been found that telocytes in the urogenital system possibly have a leading role in stromal tissue organization/maintenance, in addition to participation in stem cell niches and an association with the immune system, as well as specific functions in the urogenital system, lipid synthesis in the testes, erythropoiesis in the kidneys and the micturition reflex in the bladder. There is also evidence that telocytes are involved in pathologies in the kidneys, urethra, bladder, prostate, and testes.

Telocytes are cells present in the stroma of various tissues including the prostate. The detection of telocytes is still very much dependent on obtaining ultrastructural data that show the presence of telopodes, which are cytoplasmic projections that alternate between dilated regions, the podoms, and thin segments, the podomers. These structures are the distinctive characteristics of the telocytes. Thus, in vitro assays are important for the study of telocytes, which are more easily identified in culture, which also enables the experimental manipulation of these cells. The isolation of telocytes per se does not allow the analysis of the behavior of these cells in relation to other cell types in a given organ. In this sense, in the prostate, explants could be a useful tool for the study of telocytes. The present study obtained prostatic explants and evaluated the influence of recombinant proteins, scattering factor (SCF) and stromal‐derived factor 1 (SDF‐1), which could impact on the migration of CD34‐positive cells. Telocytes migrate out of explants and SDF‐1 stimulates the proliferation and formation of telocyte networks in vitro. Telocytes are not smooth muscle cell progenitors in the prostate; on the contrary, they are CD90‐ and CD44‐negative cells and, hence, have limited progenitor capacity. The present study demonstrated that explants are useful tools to elucidate the nature of telocytes and their functions.

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