Age-related histological and zinc content changes in adult nonhyperplastic prostate glands

Abstract

To clarify age-related histological and Zn content changes in nonhyperplastic adult prostate glands, a quantitative morphometric and energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence analyses were performed. The prostates were obtained from autopsies of 63 subjects aged 21-70 years who died mainly from trauma. It was found that histologically normal prostate tissue undergoes substantial changes throughout aging. These changes are reflected in an increase of the percent volume of the glandular lumen for the third to fifth decades, reaching a maximum for the decade 41-50 years. Over the same period, the percent volume of the stroma remains steady, but the percent volume of epithelium decreases, approximately, linearly with age. The percent volume of glandular lumen (reflects the volume of prostatic fluid) in the prostate gland of men aged 41 to 50 years is 1.5-fold higher than that in men aged 21 to 30 years, but the epithelium/lumen (prostatic fluid) ratio is approximately twofold lower. This suggests that accumulation of the prostatic fluid develops from 30 to 50 years of age. This accumulation of the prostatic fluid results in an increase of the Zn mass fraction in the prostate. In turn, when the intraprostatic Zn level exceeds a certain level by the end of the fifth decade, it begins to work as a trigger for different factors, all of which increase the proliferation of stromal cells. Deductions from these results allow possible partial explanations of both relevant prostatic aging mechanisms and the effects of dietary interventions using supplementary Zn.

Ratios of selected chemical element contents in prostatic tissue as markers of malignancy

“…In many Western industrialized countries, including North America, PCa is the most frequently diagnosed form of noncutaneous malignancy in males and, except for lung cancer, is the leading cause of death from cancer [4][5][6][7][8][9]. Although the etiology of BPH and PCa is unknown, some electrolytes and trace elements have been highlighted in the literature in relation to the development of these prostate diseases [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29].…”

The Variation with Age of 67 Macro- and Microelement Contents in Nonhyperplastic Prostate Glands of Adult and Elderly Males Investigated by Nuclear Analytical and Related Methods

“…This conclusion followed from the qualitative analysis of individual data sets [24,38,53,[65][66][67]. It was also found that the percent volumes of these histological structures depend from age and the individual uroflowmetric characteristics of the subject [68].…”

“…It was also found that the percent volumes of these histological structures depend from age and the individual uroflowmetric characteristics of the subject [68]. Moreover, the variations of the individual percent volumes of histological structures and uroflowmetric characteristics also increase with age [24,67,68].…”

“…of references contribution to this value, (n)** no. of samples a Titanium tools were used for sampling and sample preparation In our earlier publications, it was discussed in detail [13,15,67] that the age-related excessive Zn level in prostatic tissue is probably one of the main factors influencing the enlargement of the prostate gland, as well as the initiation and progression of PCa. In addition to the elevated Zn level, an age-related increase and excess in Ba, Bi, Cd, Co, Fe, Hg, Pb, Sc, Sn, Th, and U mass fractions in prostatic tissue may contribute to harmful effects on the gland.…”

Prostatic Tissue Levels of 43 Trace Elements in Patients with Prostate Adenocarcinoma

“…In our previous studies we demonstrated that the glandular lumen and, therefore, the prostatic fluid is the main pool of Zn, Se, and Rb accumulation in the normal human prostate (V. Zaichick & S. Zaichick, 2014. It was concluded that Zn, Se, and Rb are involved in functional features of prostate tissue.…”