Characterization of antibodies to androgen-dependent secretory proteins of the mouse dorsolateral prostate.

The mouse prostate is an attractive model for studying the relationship between epithelial-mesenchymal interactions and the mechanism of androgen action because of the volume of information on tissue interactions in the development of the prostate of this species and the existence of a mutant mouse lacking functional androgen receptors (Tfm mouse). In this paper the major proteins of the mouse dorsolateral prostate (DLP) have been described, and antibodies to these proteins have been characterized. The two most abundant secreted proteins were of 110,000-115,000 (Mj1) and 55,000-62,000 (Mj2) mol wt. They were glycosylated, androgen dependent, and appeared to exist in an oligomeric complex. Antibodies raised against mouse DLP secretion reacted mainly with Mj1, Mj2, and a minor protein of 140,000 mol wt (Mn1). The antibodies were of a high titer and recognized these three mouse DLP proteins by Western blotting, immunoprecipitation, and immunocytochemical techniques. Mj1 and Mj2 were antigenically similar to proteins in the mouse coagulating gland and in the rat DLP, but were not found in other organs. Immunocytochemical staining of the DLP from intact mice revealed many ducts that were lined by a tall columnar epithelium whose cells stained intensely. However, ducts that were distended with luminal secretion had a low columnar epithelium that rarely showed intracellular staining. These marker proteins and the antibodies to them will be useful for detecting androgen-dependent functional activity in tissue recombinant studies with a variety of experimental tissues.