Effect of Testosterone-Estradiol Administration on Citric Acid and Fructose Content of the Rat Prostate

Abstract

Implanatation of pellets of crystalline testosterone alone, in combination with estradiol pellets, or in combination with injections of 0.05 mg estradiol in sesame oil was carried out in 101 Sprague-Dawley rats orchiectomized 3 weeks. Rats from each group were autopsied at weekly intervals for 4 weeks. Body weight and the weight of the ventral, lateral and dorsal lobes of the prostate, the coagulating gland, and the seminal vesicles were noted. The critric acid content of the individual lobes of the prostate and the fructose content of the lateral and dorsal lobes of the prostate and the coagulating gland were determined. By the 2nd week after pellet implantation, the simultaneous administration of testosterone and estradiol resulted in a much greater citric acid content and concentration in the lateral lobes of the prostate than did the administration of testosterone alone; an accompany weight increase was also evident. No consistent effect on the citric acid or fructose content of the other lobes of the prostate or other accessory sex glands was noted. These observations suggest a unique enhancement of the testosterone stimulation of the lateral lobe of the prostate by estradiol under the experimental conditions employed.