Rajfer J, Coffey D S
Invest Urol. 1978 Nov;16(3):186-90.
New periods of sex hormone sensitivity in the life cycle of the male rat that occur before the onset of sexual maturation and that determine subsequent responsiveness and growth of the adult prostate have been elucidated. If high doses of estrogen (17 beta-estradiol--500 microgram per day, or estradiol benzoate--250 micrograms per day, or estradiol dipropionate--100 micrograms per day) are administered to intact male rats for 2 days during the 1st week after birth, the prostate, at adulthood, is diminutive in size and is inert to the action of exogenous androgens. In contrast, lower doses of estrogen (17 beta estradiol--100 micrograms per day) administered at 20 and 22 days of age enhance the sensitivity of the adult prostate to testosterone by approximately 50 per cent. Furthermore, it has been determined that continued testicular function is required up to the time of puberty for full prostatic growth.
已经阐明，雄性大鼠生命周期中在性成熟开始之前出现的新的性激素敏感时期，决定了成年前列腺随后的反应性和生长。如果在出生后第一周内给完整的雄性大鼠连续2天注射高剂量雌激素（17β-雌二醇——每天500微克，或苯甲酸雌二醇——每天250微克，或二丙酸雌二醇——每天100微克），成年时前列腺体积会减小，对外源雄激素的作用无反应。相反，在20和22日龄时给予较低剂量的雌激素（17β-雌二醇——每天100微克），可使成年前列腺对睾酮的敏感性提高约50%。此外，已经确定，在青春期之前持续的睾丸功能对于前列腺的充分生长是必需的。
