The Effects of Castration on the Ventral Prostate of the Outbred Syrian Hamster

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Abstract
Prolonged castration or castration combined with adrenalectomy had virtually no effect on epithelial cell height in the ventral prostate glands of outbred Syrian hamsters. Although the wet weight of the prostate glands of adult and young adult hamsters increased following castration, the acid phosphatase activity in these glands decreased dramatically. The increase in wet weight was apparently due to the increased accumulation of proteinaceous secretions rather than to prostatic hyperplasia, since the DNA content of the glands decreased significantly after castration for 2 wk. When administered in vivo, the antiandrogen cyproterone acetate had no detectable effect on prostatic epithelial cell height or overall wet weight. Although the ventral prostate of the outbred hamster is an androgen-responsive tissue, neither its wet weight nor its secretory epithelium show typical postcastrational atrophy.