Dihydrotestosterone Receptors in the Human Prostate. I. Nuclear Concentration in Normal, Benign, and Malignant Tissues

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Abstract
A technique was standardized to measure nuclear dihydrotestosterone receptors in human prostate. Normal, hyperplastic (BPH) and cancer tissues were homogenized and the homogenate centrifuged at 600 g .times. 10 min; the pellet was purified on sucrose density gradient. Purified nuclei were extracted with 0.4 M KCl. The nuclear extract was incubated in the presence of [3H]dihydrotestosterone (DHT) at 4.degree. C for 20 h. Competition studies with different steroids indicated a high specificity of the receptor towards DHT and no affinity towards progesterone and 17.beta.-estradiol. Isolation and purfication of [3H]DHT after its incubation in the presence of the KCl nuclear extract indicated that no significant degradation of the hormone occurred during incubation. The no. of binding sites measured was 8.5 .+-. 0.77 femtomol protein (mean .+-. SEM [standard error of the mean]) for normal, 38.6 .+-. 5.9 for BPH and 79.9 .+-. 21.9 for cancer. The possible clinical application of these results will require a long-term follow-up of the hormonal responsiveness of the prostatic-cancer patients investigated.