Stereological evaluation of fibronectin in the periurethral region of the transitional zone from normal human prostates compared with benign prostatic hyperplasia.

The aim of this study was to assess the volumetric density (Vv) of the fibronectin in the periurethral region of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and compare with a control group. Prostatic periurethral tissue samples were obtained from ten patients (age range 65 to 79 years, mean 66) with clinical symptoms of bladder outlet obstruction who had undergone open prostatectomy. The control group samples (periurethral tissue samples from the transitional zone) were collected from prostates obtained during autopsy of accidental death adults of less than 25 years. The volumetric density (Vv) of the fibronectin was determined with stereological methods from 25 random fields per sample using the point-count method with an M-42 grid test system. The quantitative data were analyzed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Mann-Whitney U tests. The Vv in the control and BPH groups was 21.9% ± 1.5% and 29.1% ± 1.2% in the fibronectin, respectively. BPH tissues presented a significant increase of fibronectin in prostatic periurethral region in the transitional zone that may cause lengthening of the prostatic urethra.