THE EFFECTS OF CASTRATION AND ANDROGEN REPLACEMENT ON THE NUCLEIC ACID COMPOSITION, METABOLISM, AND ENZYMATIC CAPACITIES OF THE RAT VENTRAL PROSTATE

Abstract

The pentose nucleic acid/desoxyribose nucleic acid ratio for normal rat ventral prostate tissue of approximately 2.4 is lowered to 0.9 or less following-castration or stilbestrol administration, while testosterone replacement returns the ratio to the “normal” value. Qo2 of prostates from 6–15 weeks castrates is about 1/5 that of the “normal” value and the RQ falls from 0.9 to 0.4. Testosterone treatment re-establishes (the “normal” Qo2 and RQ values. Zymohexase concentration of castrate tissue is lowered to 5–10% that of “normal,” while the α-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase concentration doubles. The concentrations of both enzymes in prostrates of 20-day-old immature rats are similar to those of normal adults rather than of castrates. Hy injecting increasing amounts of testosterone in 4-week castrate mature rats and measuring the zymohexase activity of the prostate tissue after 72 hours treatment, a definite threshold is demonstrated below which the activity is at the castrate level and above which there is a 20-fold increase in zymohexase activity. The acid phosphatase activity of the prostate tissue per gram wet weight falls in the range of 8–10 King- Armstrong units and is not affected by age of rat, castration or by testosterone or stilbestrol administration.