The purinergic calcium channels P2X1,2,5,7 are down-regulated while P2X3,4,6 are up-regulated during apoptosis in the ageing rat prostate.

Subtype-specific antibodies were used to measure purinergic (P2X) receptor expression in the rat prostate. In mature Wistar rats, apoptosis and expression of P2X1, P2X2, P2X5 and P2X7 subtypes were all significantly decreased compared with the levels found in immature rat prostates. Accompanying this age-related reduction in purinergic calcium channel expression was a reduction in epithelial and stromal calcium as well as the calcium-regulating hormone stanniocalcin. In contrast, expression of P2X3, P2X4 and P2X6 increased with age. These results suggest that distinct changes in P2X subtype expression accompany apoptosis in the rat prostate.