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Zone-Dependent Expression of Estrogen Receptors and ß in Human Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

Department of Urology (T.T.), The Japanese Red Cross Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Hospital, Nagasaki 852-8511; Department of Urology (D.A., H.K.), Nagasaki University School of Medicine, Nagasaki 852-8501; Department of Biochemistry (S.I., M.M.), Saitama Medical School, Saitama 350-0495; and Department of Histology and Cell Biology (T.T., Y.H., T.K.), Nagasaki University School of Medicine, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Takehiko Koji, Ph.D., Department of Histology and Cell Biology, Nagasaki University School of Medicine, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan. E-mail: tkoji{at}net.nagasaki-u.ac.jp.

Estrogen, which acts through estrogen receptors (ERs) and ß, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of benign and malignant human prostatic tumors, i.e. benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer, thought to originate from different zones of the prostate [the transition zone (TZ) and peripheral zone (PZ), respectively]. Here, we examined the cellular distribution of ER and ERß in human normal and hyperplastic prostate tissues, using in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. ER expression was restricted to stromal cells of PZ. In contrast, ERß was expressed in the stromal cells of PZ as well as TZ. ERß-positive epithelial cells were evenly distributed in PZ and TZ of the prostate. Our results suggest that estrogen may play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of benign prostatic hyperplasia through ERß.

This work was supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture (no. 1247003; to T.K.) and by a grant from the Japanese Environment Agency (to T.K.).

Abbreviations: AR, Androgen receptor; BPH, benign prostatic hyperplasia; DAB, 3,3'-diaminobenzidine/4HCl; ER, estrogen receptor; HRP, horseradish peroxidase; IHC, immunohistochemistry; ISH, in situ hybridization; PC, prostate cancer; PZ, peripheral zone; SSC, standard saline citrate; TZ, transition zone.

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