Lobe‐specific distribution of a 20,000‐dalton nonhistone protein in the dorsolateral prostate of rats

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Abstract
Distribution of an androgen-dependent, 20,000-dalton nonhistone protein with a pI of about 11.5 (20K-NHP) was examined by electrophorectic techniques. Nuclei of the brain, liver, spleen, skeletal muscle, lung, and thymus of rats contained a negligible amount of 20K-NHP, whereas 20K-NHP was distinctly detectable, in different relative amounts, in the nuclei of the male accessory sex organs, with the dorsolateral prostate having the highest relative content (100%), followed by the coagulating gland (≈ 16%), the ventral prostate (≈ 6%), and the seminal vesicle (≈ 2%). There were heterogeneous distributions of cytosol components, acid phosphatase isozymes, and nonhistone proteins in the dorsolateral prostate. Zinc was localized in the lateral lobe, and fructose and glucose were in the dorsal lobe. Cytosol proteins with pI 7.5, 8.2, and 8.5 were abundant in the dorsal lobe, and proteins with pI 7.4 and 8.0 in the lateral lobe. Acid phosphatase isozymes with pI 7.1, 7.4, 7.7, and 8.0 were abundantly distributed in the lateral lobe. Of the nonhistone proteins, 20K-NHP showed the highest content both in the lateral lobe and in the dorsal lobe. It was found that 20K-NHP was more abundantly distributed in the lateral lobe (maximally four times higher) than in the dorsal lobe. The heterogeneous distribution of 20K-NHP in the dorsolateral prostate was strikingly similar to that of zinc. It appears, therefore, that 20K-NHP is closely related to dorsolateral prostate zinc content.

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