SUPRANORMAL NUCLEAR CONTENT OF 5α-DIHYDROTESTOSTERONE IN BENIGN HYPERPLASTIC PROSTATE OF HUMANS

Abstract

We investigated the concentration of nuclear and cytosolic 5α-dihydrotestosterone and 3α-androstanediol in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in men. The endogenous content of the androgens was quantitated by radioimmunoassay after isolation of the nuclear and cytosolic fractions by classical differential centrifugation techniques. The mean dihydrotestosterone content was about four-fold higher (P¼.01) than normal in the nuclear fraction and two-fold higher (P=.O5) in the cytosolic fraction in periurethral tissue from hyperplastic prostates. The mean 3α-androstanediol values were approximately one-third of normal in both the nuclear (P ¼.01) and cytosolic (P ¼.01) fractionsin glands with BPH. In BPH tissue the ratio of dihydrotestosterone to androstanediol content in both the nuclear and cytosolic fractions was significantly higher (P ¼.01) than the ratio in normal prostate. Our data suggest that elevated intranuclear dihydrotestosterone but not 3α-androstanediol may be causally related to the development of BPH in aging men.