Radioautography Related to Amounts of [ 35 S]Sulfate Taken up by Prostate Glands of 2-Year-Old Mice

Summary

Intraperitoneally injected ³⁵SO₄ppeared rapidly in the blood and in the prostate glands of the 2-year-old mouse. Most of the prostate ³⁵S was in the tissue proper with small amounts in the blood. The amounts of soluble ³⁵S of prostate glands were greatest at 1 hr and least at 125 hr after ³⁵S injection. The amounts of nonsolu-ble ³⁵S (not removable by washing with formalin solution) decreased much more gradually than the soluble ³⁵S. Consequently, the nonsoluble ³⁵S amounted to 1 % of the total prostate ³⁵S at 1 hr and to about 100% at 125 hr.

The amounts of nonsoluble ³⁵S were the same for both the ventral and lateral prostatic lobes at the various time points after the injection. The nonsoluble ³⁵S increased to a peak at 5 hr, decreased to half the peak at 25 hr, and it continued to decrease with time.

At 10 min after its injection, ³⁵S was detectable in the epithelial cells and lumen of the acinus by radioautography. The amounts of ³⁵S in the epithelial cells increased from relatively large at 1 hr to massive amounts at 5 hr. However, at 50 hr, the ³⁵S in the epithelial cells had decreased to the 10-min level while the amounts in the lumina had greatly increased.

Results of this investigation suggest that the nonsoluble prostate ³⁵S was initially concentrated in the acinar cells, moved into the lumen, and then was excreted by the prostate gland. Thus, the prostate gland of the 2-year-old mouse is physiologically active and capable of metabolizing ³⁵S0₄.

The water-, ethanol-, .xylene-, and metha-nol-insoluble ³⁵S of the prostate gland appears to be an integral component of GAGs.