Incidence of Mucinous Metaplasia in the Prostate of FVB/N Mice (Mus musculus).

Prostate epithelium in mice is considered to be relatively resistant to aged-related changes, as compared with human prostate epithelium, which is prone to spontaneous hyperplasia and cancer, for example. In addition, the incidence of metaplasia in mouse prostate typically is considered to be low. Here we report the incidence of mucinous metaplasia in the prostates of wild-type FVB/N mice. Our histologic study shows that mucinous metaplasia involving goblet cells occurs much more frequently (incidence as high as 50%) in the prostates of aged mice (17-24 mo) than has been reported previously. Mucinous metaplasia in the prostates of laboratory mice may be considerably more frequent than previously appreciated.