Histochemical and biochemical investigation of adrenergic, cholinergic and peptidergic innervation of the rat ventral prostate 8 weeks after streptozotocin-induced diabetes.

The gross anatomy and autonomic innervation of the ventral prostate glands was examined in control and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. The most striking finding was the consistent reduction in size and the gross atrophy of the prostates from diabetic rats. No change was detected in the total content of noradrenaline in the alveolar lobes or in the levels of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, neuropeptide Y and substance P in the whole prostates of diabetic rats. However, histochemical and immunohistochemical investigations revealed localized reductions in density and/or fluorescence intensity of noradrenaline-containing nerve fibres and increased density and/or fluorescence intensity of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide- and neuropeptide Y-containing nerve fibres in the alveolar smooth muscle of a majority of diabetic animals. No changes in acetylcholinesterase-staining nerve fibres were seen. The adrenergic component of the autonomic nervous system in this gland appears to be particularly susceptible to change in diabetes.