Prostaglandin F2α and human prostatic affinity for testosterone

Earlier work had shown that the lactogen, LTH and HPL, foster testosterone binding by the prostate. This study was undertaken to see if prostaglandin F_2α would oppose the effect of the lactogen on the prostate as it does the luteotrophic action of the hormone on the corpus luteum. When it was found instead that the PGF increases steroid binding and that its interaction with lactogen was neither antagonistic nor additive, attention was directed to further characterization of the prostaglandin's effect. A dosage/response study of F_2α alone showed that concentrations of 4 ng/ml and 40 ng/ml increased binding but that 400 ng/ml did not. Glands with stromal hyperplasia and/or inflammation were more responsive than those with epithelial hyperplasia. Assays of water extracts of the tissue revealed concentrations of about 340 ng of F_2α per gram fresh weight and that the concentration varied inversely as the β-glucuronidase activity. If the enzyme level is considered an index of the epithelial cell density within the specimen, the inverse relationship suggests a non-epithelial (stromal) site of prostaglandin concentration.