Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) affects up to 80% of eighty-year-old men, is often accompanied by lower urinary tract symptoms and can therefore significantly diminish quality of life. Medical treatment predominantly consists of relaxing the smooth muscle cells in the prostate by using alpha-1-blockers which bears the risk of side effects such as erectile dysfunction. In search of alternative effectors of prostatic contractility we investigated oxytocin which has been found to be involved not only in female but also in male reproductive processes. We analysed the contractile pattern of prostatic glands and ducts separately, allowing to predict effects and local side effects of drugs used as potential treatment options for BPH. Most of the experiments were performed in rodent tissue since in the human prostate data on structure and functional regulation of excretory ducts as well as the potential of targeting other receptors instead of adrenergic ones are missing.
The duct system of the human prostate was visualized using corrosion cast models, smooth muscle staining and Micro-CT-imaging. The effects of oxytocin were investigated using video microscopy.
We were able to clarify the human prostatic ductal system and also got information about the organisation of the surrounding smooth muscle cells. Oxytocin increased the frequency of spontaneous prostatic contractions. There was a visible difference between oxytocin- and noradrenaline-induced contractions, which also differed between prostatic ducts and glands.
Revealing differences between ducts and glands in the prostate not only extends our basic anatomical and physiological knowledge but might prove valuable for evaluating local side effects in pursuit of creating even more targeted medications. These insights in combination with the oxytocin data we obtained could open up new strategies in BPH treatment especially by comparing our novel oxytocin antagonists in the near future.