BERKELEY, CA (UroToday.com) - The prostate cell population is heterogeneous and comprises, among others, epithelial, basal, neuroendocrine and stem cells, as well as stroma and tissue matrix.
The effect of androgens in some cells (i.e. stem cells) is paradoxical: deprivation does not affect them but restoration of testosterone levels increases their proliferation. Complicating matters, stromal–epithelial interactions are regulated not only by androgens, oestrogens [1] and prolactin, but also by a number of growth factors that work through endocrine, paracrine or intracrine mechanisms, which remain only partially elucidated. The relationship between the prostate and testosterone is therefore complex and can be favourable or detrimental to the host, depending, to a large extent, on his individual characteristics...View or save the full text Mini Review as a .pdf file
Alvaro Morales
Centre for Applied Urological Research, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada
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