Androgen receptors and the molecular basis for the action of antiadrogens in the ventral prostate.

In the rat ventral prostate, various antiandrogens can interfere with the normal formation of an androgen-receptor complex which appears to be required for androgen action. Some of the antagonists may act by inhibiting the enzymatic formation of 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone or by competing with androgens for the binding sites on the receptors, whereby interacting with and altering the receptor molecules themselves. If the action of an androgen-receptor complex can indeed occur at the stage of gene transcription as well as in certain post-transcriptional processes, the molecular site of antiandrogen action may be in the nuclei and/or cytoplasm of the target cells.