Castration-induced expression of caspase-1 in epithelia of accessory sex organs in male rats
- Author:
Izawa MASAO
1
;
Kimura MITUNORI
;
Yamada TOMIKO
;
Saji MAKOTO
Author Information
1. Tottori University
- Keywords:
prostate;
seminal vesicles;
tissue involution;
apoptosis;
caspase-1;
cDNA;
cloning;
castration;
epithelium;
rats
- From:
Asian Journal of Andrology
2001;3(2):105-108
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Aim: As an attempt to clarify the molecular basis of castration-induced apoptosis, this study was undertaken to demonstrate the expression of caspase-1 in male accessory sex organs of rats. Methods and results: cDNA of rat caspase-1 was cloned by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction from the ventral prostates. The open reading frame predicts 402 amino acids, which shows more than 91% and 63 % identity to those of mouse and human, respec tively. Northern analyses demonstrated the presence of castration-induced up-regulation of the 1.6 kb transcript in the ventral prostate and the seminal vesicles. Finally, the authors demonstrated the caspase-1 transcripts in the epithelia of these tissues by in situ hybridization analyses. Conclusion: Castration induces the expression of caspase-1 tran scripts in the epithelia of ventral prostate and seminal vesicle. These observations suggest a possible role of caspase-1 in apoptosis in male accessory sex organs.
