Effects of androgen blockade with ketoconazole and megestrol acetate on human prostatic protein patterns.

We studied the effects of megestrol acetate (MA) and ketoconazole (KC) on protein synthesis of epithelial and stromal cells of human prostate. Patients with benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) were treated with MA (160 mg/day) plus KC (1,200 mg/day) for 7 days. Prostate tissues obtained from transurethral resection (TURP) were separated into epithelial and stromal cells with 0.5% collagenase. The separated cells were incubated with L-35S-methionine in methionine-free MEM at 37 degrees C for 3 hr. The protein synthesis in both epithelial and stromal cells was significantly inhibited in the group treated with MA and KC when compared to a control group (p less than 0.05). The proteins incorporated with L-35S-methionine were analyzed by SDS-PAGE and autoradiography. The molecular weights of the epithelial and stromal proteins inhibited ranged between 35-55K.