Research Paper Volume 11, Issue 9 pp 2653—2669
Prostate enlargement and altered urinary function are part of the aging process
- 1 Department of Urology, University of Wisconsin – Madison, Madison, WI 53705, USA
- 2 K12 Kure, University of Wisconsin – Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
- 3 Molecular and Environmental Toxicology, University of Wisconsin – Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
- 4 Cancer Biology, University of Wisconsin – Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
- 5 Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin – Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
- 6 Department of Radiology, University of Wisconsin – Madison, Madison, WI 53705, USA
- 7 Department of Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin – Madison, Madison, WI 53705, USA
- 8 George M. O’Brien Center of Research Excellence, University of Wisconsin – Madison, Madison, WI 53705, USA
Received: March 8, 2019 Accepted: April 24, 2019 Published: May 13, 2019
https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.101938How to Cite
Copyright: Liu et al. This is an open‐access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Prostate disease incidence, both benign and malignant, directly correlates with age. Men under 40 years of age are rarely diagnosed with benign or malignant prostate disease, while 90% of men over the age of 80 have histological evidence of benign disease (benign prostatic hyperplasia; BPH). Although rodent models have been invaluable in the study of disease progression and treatment efficacy, the effect of age is often not considered. In examining aged (24-month-old) mice, we observed changes within the lower urinary tract that is typically associated with lower urinary tract dysfunction (LUTD) similar to models of BPH. In this study, we identify LUTD using functional testing as well as various imaging technologies. We also characterize the histological differences within the lower urinary tract between young (2-month-old) and aged mice including proliferation, stromal remodeling, and collagen deposition. Additionally, we examined serum steroid hormone levels, as steroid changes drive LUTD in mice and are known to change with age. We conclude that, with age, changes in prostate function, consistent with LUTD, are a consequence. Therapeutic targeting of endocrine and prostatic factors including smooth muscle function, prostate growth and fibrosis are likely to reestablish normal urinary function.
Abbreviations
BPH: benign prostatic hyperplasia; LUTD: lower urinary tract dysfunction; LUTS: lower urinary tract symptoms; T: testosterone; E: estrogen; E2: 17β-estradiol; AP: anterior prostate; VP: ventral prostate; DLP: dorsolateral prostate; LC-MS2: liquid chromatography – tandem mass spectrometry; DHT: dihydrotestosterone; LLOQ: lower limit of quantification.