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Age‐related changes in the properties of α 1 ‐adrenoceptors in the rat genitourinary tract
Author(s) -
Yono Makoto,
Foster Harris E.,
Yoshida Masaki,
Ueda Shoichi,
Weiss Robert M.,
Latifpour Jamshid
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.20.4.a254-a
Subject(s) - lower urinary tract symptoms , genitourinary system , prostate , hyperplasia , medicine , urology , testosterone (patch) , endocrinology , benign prostatic hyperplasia (bph) , receptor , urinary system , androgen receptor , prostate cancer , cancer
As age‐related changes occur in the properties of α 1 ‐adrenoceptor (AR) in several mammalian tissues, and as α 1 ‐AR antagonists are extensively used to treat lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), we investigated the age‐related changes in the functional, biochemical and molecular properties of α 1 ‐ARs in the rat genitourinary tract. The characteristics of α 1 ‐ARs in the ventral prostate, dorsolateral prostate, bladder base and bladder dome of 3 months and 22 months old rats were determined using isolated muscle bath, radioligand receptor binding and real‐time RT‐PCR techniques. The old rats had significantly higher body weights, lower testosterone levels, and a smaller ventral prostate and larger bladder dome compared to young rats. Although there was no significant age dependent difference in the properties of α 1 ‐ARs in bladder base and dome, the total α 1 ‐ARs density, expression levels of all three α 1 ‐AR subtype mRNAs and the maximum contractile responses to phenylephrine were significantly lower in both ventral and dorsolateral prostate of 22 months than 3 months old rats. The presence of age‐related differences in the molecular, biochemical and functional properties of α 1 ‐ARs in the rat genitourinary tract may indicate potential differences in the therapeutic responses of young compared to old patients to α 1 ‐AR antagonists when used to treat LUTS secondary to BPH. Supported by NIH grants DK 38311 and DK 42530.