[Assessment of the effect of a 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor on cultured explants of human prostate]. / Valoración de la acción de un inhibidor de la 5-alpha-reductasa sobre cultivos de explantes de próstata humana.

For the present work, cultures of hyperplastic human prostate explants were performed to evaluate the "in vitro" response of a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor-finasteride. Explants were cultured over a nine-week period in RPMI-1640 media supplemented with Penicillin-Streptomycin 4% and Fetal Bovine Serum 10%. Cultures were divided into one control group, one with testosterone added (1.25 x 10(4) micrograms/ml) and one which received testosterone (1.25 x 10(-4) micrograms/ml) plus finasteride (0,0038 mg/ml). Control explants showed involutive changes throughout the experience, which occurred later in those treated with testosterone and earlier and more marked in the case of finasteride. The testosterone-treated group showed intense positivity for PSA, a marker which reveals specific tissular functions, which remained uniformed in the control group through the entire experiment, and decreased gradually in the finasteride group. In summary, according to our work, culture of organs would be a useful tool for an in vitro evaluation of the hyperplastic human prostate response to the action of the 5-alpha reductase inhibitor, finasteride.

[Comparative ultrastructural study of the epithelial stromal junction in the prostatic gland]. / Estudio ultraestructural comparado de los E.S.J. en la glándula prostática.

In this paper, the authors carry out a comparative study of the structures adjacent to the alveolar periphery of the prostate-glands of men, dogs and bulls. In the three cases an E.S.J. (Epithelial-Stromal-Junction) similar to that described in the mammary gland and characterized in the first two cases by the existence of four, ultrastruct strata, consisting of the basal lamina, the somas of the adjacent fibroblasts and their cytoplasmic expansions as well as the arrangement of the intercellular, collagen microfibrils, was found to exist in this gland. In the case of the bovine prostate gland, the structural organization of the E.S.J. was basically characterized by the structural arrangement of the collagen microfibrils. The structures described constitute models on which to base future research on the hyperplastic and neoplastic processes of the prostate gland.