THE HUMAN PROSTATE-GLAND - A HISTOCHEMICAL AND IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL STUDY OF NEUROPEPTIDES, SEROTONIN, DOPAMINE BETA-HYDROXYLASE AND ACETYLCHOLINESTERASE IN AUTONOMIC NERVES AND GANGLIA

Different regions of the prostate gland, namely the prostatic capsule, peripheral prostate, and proximal and distal central prostate, were obtained from 5 patients with carcinoma of the bladder and studied histochemically and immunohistochemically to localise acetylcholinesterase (AChE)-, dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DBH)-, serotonin- and peptide-containing nerves. Autonomic ganglia were found in all regions of the prostate studied. The greatest number of ganglia contained AChE and neuropeptide Y (NPY) followed (in decreasing order) by DBH; [Met]enkephalin (mENK) and [Leu]enkephalin (IENK); calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP); and serotinin, but not somatostatin. The greatest density of nerve fibres was found in the proximal central prostate, followed by the anterior capsule and distal central prostate, with the least in the peripheral prostate. The greatest number of nerve fibres contained ACh and NPY, followed in decreasing order by VIP and DBH; IENK, serotonin and CGRP; mENK; substance P and somatostatin. The functions of the neurotransmitter substances in the human prostate remain to be elucidated.