Endogenous steroid levels in the human prostate from birth to old age: a comparison of normal and diseased tissues.

The levels of steroids in prostatic tissues were determined by radioimmunoassay after solvent extraction of a single (300--600 mg wet tissue) sample and chromatography of extracts on hydroxyalkoxypropyl Sephandex microcolumns. In normal adult prostates (n = 18) the concentrations of steroids (mean +/- S.E.M. ng/g wet tissue) were: testosterone, 0.25 +/- 0.04; androstenedione, 0.13 +/- 0.03; 5alpha-androstane-3,17-dione (5alpha-androstanedione), 1.31 +/- 0.30; 17beta-hydroxy-5alpha-androstan-3-one (5alpha-dihydrotestosterone, DHT), 1.22 +/- 0.14; 5alpha-androstane-3alpha, 17 beta-diol (3alpha-androstanediol), 4.32 +/- 0.49; androsterone, 4.15 +/- 1.07; progestrone, 0.39 +/- 0.07; 17alpha-hydroxyprogestrone, 0.42 +/- 0.06. Concentrations of of steroids tissues from outer-gland regions were within the ranges found in the periurethral regions. In the prostates of newborn boys, the concentrations of all steroids were high, including progesterone and 17alpha-hydroxyprogesterone. Apart from 3alpha-androstanediol, the levels of which tend to increase after this age, the concentrations of all steroids were lower in the infant and pubertal prostates, but most were re-established to a variable extend in the adult tissues. This was particularly evident with respect to 5alpha-androstanedione and androsterone, and it is suggested that these two androgens may have a functional role in the mature prostate. The concentrations of testosterone, androstenedione, 5alpha-androstanedione, progesterone and 17alpha-hydroxyprogesterone in tissue taken from ten patients with benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) were similar to those in normal adult adult tissue. The concentration of DHT was markedly raised (5.33 +/- 0.46 ng/g) and the level of 3alpha-androstanediol and androsterone were reduced (1.40 +/- 0.12 ng/g respectively) in adenomatous compared with normal tissue. The concentrations of various androgens displayed remarkable interelationships which characterize normal and BPH tissues. The concentrations of testosterone, androstenedione, DHT and 3alpha-androstanediol were particularly high in the untreated prostatic carcinomatous tissue sample investigated, whereas the concentrations of 5alpha-androstanedione and androsterone were very low. After oestrogen treatment, testosterone and androstenedione virtually disappeared, while reduced but significant concentrations of their metabolites remained in similar proportions to those observed in the untreated carcinomatous tissue. Under the conditions of therapy, oestrogens are suggested to influence the uptake of androgens.