Effects of exposure to estradiol and estradiol plus testosterone on the mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus) female prostate

Abstract

The female prostate is a differentiated organ found in several mammal species, including humans and rodents. This gland has been related to important functions on female reproductive biology. Although the factors, which regulate prostate's development and activity are not well known, its functionality has been related to steroid hormones. It is well established that cyclic changes of estradiol and progesterone levels promote histophysiological adaptations of the whole female body. In contrast, only a few is found about those adaptations in female prostate. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of estradiol and estradiol + testosterone association on gerbil female prostate in order to verify, which hormonal associations are necessary to its homeostasis. For this, adult females had the ovaries surgically removed. After recovering, they received estradiol and estradiol + testosterone doses through 30 days, each 48 h. The prostatic tissue underwent morphological and morphometric-estereological analysis. Hormonal restriction caused great gland involution and decreased secretory activity, aspects that were reverted by exposure to estradiol and estradiol + testosterone. However, these hormones were not able to re-establish the normal prostate histoarchitecture. The immunoreaction of steroid receptors (ER-α, ER-β, and AR) responded differently among the experimental and control groups, and PCNA assay showed a decrease in epithelial cell proliferation within groups that had hormone privation. Therefore, we conclude that estradiol and testosterone are able to influence prostate morphophysiology and the maintenance of gland homeostasis depends on a balance among these and other hormones.

Progesterone as a morphological regulatory factor of the male and female gerbil prostate

“…The reduction in AR-positive cells in the castrated animals corroborates with literature showing that the AR is quite sensitive to serum testosterone variation (Oliveira et al 2007;Campos et al 2010;Da Silva et al 2013). The administration of P4 associated with E2 or T was sufficient to reverse the AR level to the normal state found in the NC, probably because P4 is able to produce androgenic products that can bind to ARs (Nishino et al 2009).…”

Pubertal exposure to ethinylestradiol promotes different effects on the morphology of the prostate of the male and female gerbil during aging

“…Several studies report that the prostate of male and female gerbils is sensitive to steroid hormone actions, irrespective of the treatment phase, which can be the adult phase (Santos et al, ; Biancardi et al, ; Da Silva et al, ) or the prenatal period (Biancardi et al, ; Perez et al, ). However the environment in which prostatic development occurs is crucial for normal prostate function (Cunha et al, ), especially during senescence, when there is an increased risk of prostate disease (Campos et al, ; Custódio et al, ).…”

Acute exposure to bisphenol A and cadmium causes changes in the morphology of gerbil ventral prostates and promotes alterations in androgen‐dependent proliferation and cell death

“…In addition, little is known about the action of BPA and cadmium in the studied experimental model, the Mongolian gerbil. This animal has been used in our laboratory for several studies involving hormone treatments (Da Silva et al, ; Fochi et al, ; Campos et al, ), with very satisfactory results. Its prostate exhibits a high degree of similarity with the human prostate but with interesting particularities, such as high natural levels of endogenous testosterone (Gonçalves et al, ).…”