Sensibar J A, Liu X X, Patai B, Alger B, Lee C
Department of Urology, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, IL 60611-3008.
Prostate. 1990;16(3):263-76. doi: 10.1002/pros.2990160310.
Activities of cathepsin D (EC 3.4.23.5) were determined in three lobes of the prostate during their involution by both biochemical and immunohistochemical procedures. The activity of cathepsin D in noncastrated rats was 0.9 +/- 0.2 (mean +/- SE) 5.7 +/- 0.6, and 13.1 +/- 0.8 units/mg protein for the ventral, lateral, dorsal lobes, respectively. Following castration, there was a significant increase in enzymatic activity in all three lobes within 2-3 days. In the ventral lobe, the activity peaked in 5 days to 6.2 +/- 0.9 units/mg protein and declined slightly thereafter. In the lateral and dorsal lobes, the activity remained elevated (14-20 units/mg protein) throughout the postcastration period studied. Immunohistochemical staining of cathepsin D was localized in the cytoplasm of prostatic epithelial cells as fine discrete lysosomal granules. These granules were larger and more abundant in the dorsal and lateral lobes than in the ventral lobe and were not detected in prostatic stromal cells and seldom in the luminal fluid. Castration resulted in an immediate increase in the size and number of these granules in the epithelial cells, followed by a sudden further increase in cathepsin D staining in some but not all epithelial cells. Lysosomal granules gradually coalesced in these cells to form large vacuoles that fit the characteristic description of apoptotic bodies. Finally, after day 7 postcastration, collapse and disintegration of the entire glandular structure was noted. Using this procedure to localize cathepsin D as a tool, we were able to follow the morphological events of prostatic cell death during castration-induced involution in the rat at the light microscopic level.
通过生化和免疫组织化学方法，测定了前列腺三个叶在退化过程中组织蛋白酶D（EC 3.4.23.5）的活性。未阉割大鼠腹侧叶、外侧叶和背侧叶组织蛋白酶D的活性分别为0.9±0.2（平均值±标准误）、5.7±0.6和13.1±0.8单位/毫克蛋白质。阉割后，所有三个叶的酶活性在2 - 3天内显著增加。腹侧叶的活性在5天达到峰值，为6.2±0.9单位/毫克蛋白质，此后略有下降。在外侧叶和背侧叶，在所研究的阉割后时期，活性一直保持升高（14 - 20单位/毫克蛋白质）。组织蛋白酶D的免疫组织化学染色定位于前列腺上皮细胞的细胞质中，呈细小离散的溶酶体颗粒。这些颗粒在背侧叶和外侧叶比腹侧叶更大且更丰富，在前列腺基质细胞中未检测到，在管腔液中也很少见。阉割导致上皮细胞中这些颗粒的大小和数量立即增加，随后部分但不是所有上皮细胞中的组织蛋白酶D染色突然进一步增加。溶酶体颗粒在这些细胞中逐渐融合形成大液泡，符合凋亡小体的特征描述。最后，在阉割后第7天之后，整个腺结构出现塌陷和崩解。使用这种将组织蛋白酶D定位的方法作为工具，我们能够在光学显微镜水平上追踪大鼠阉割诱导退化过程中前列腺细胞死亡的形态学事件。
