The principal function of the prostate is to provide the proteins and ions that form the bulk of the seminal fluid. The adult human prostate is a tubuloalveolar gland composed of ducts lined with a pseudostratified columnar epithelium. The cells lining the ducts are tall columnar and secretory with basal nuclei. A nearly continuous layer of basal epithelial cells abut the epithelial basement membrane. The prostatic epithelium is, in turn, surrounded by a dense fibromuscular stroma.

Development of the prostate begins with the growth of prostatic buds from the urogenital sinus at about 10 weeks of fetal development in the human.<sup>56 Kellokumpu-Lehtonen P., Santti R., Pelliniemi L.J. Correlation of early cytodifferentiation of the human fetal prostate and Leydig cells Anat Rec 1980 ;  196 : 263-273

Cliccare qui per andare alla sezione Riferimenti, 77 Lowsley O.S. The development of the human prostate gland with reference to the development of other structures at the neck of the urinary bladder Am J Anat 1912 ;  13 : 299-349  [cross-ref]

Cliccare qui per andare alla sezione Riferimenti</sup> Androgen receptors (AR) in the urogenital sinus mesenchyme (UGM) are stimulated by testicular androgens to induce epithelial budding, proliferation, and differentiation to form ductal structures.<sup>23 Cunha G.R., Donjacour A.A., Cooke P.S. , e al. The endocrinology and developmental biology of the prostate Endocr Rev 1987 ;  8 : 338-362  [cross-ref]

Cliccare qui per andare alla sezione Riferimenti</sup> The epithelium differentiates into luminal and basal subtypes and expresses characteristic secretory markers. Concurrent with epithelial differentiation the UGM proliferates and differentiates into prostatic smooth muscle and interfascicular fibroblasts.<sup>39 Hayward S.W., Baskin L.S., Haughney P.C. , e al. Epithelial development in the rat ventral prostate, anterior prostate and seminal vesicle Acta Anat (Basel) 1996 ;  155 : 81-93  [cross-ref]

Cliccare qui per andare alla sezione Riferimenti, 40 Hayward S.W., Baskin L.S., Haughney P.C. , e al. Stromal development in the ventral prostate, anterior prostate and seminal vesicle of the rat Acta Anat (Basel) 1996 ;  155 : 94-103  [cross-ref]

Cliccare qui per andare alla sezione Riferimenti, 41 Hayward S.W., Brody J.R., Cunha G.R. An edgewise look at basal cells: Three-dimensional views of the rat prostate, mammary gland and salivary gland Differentiation 1996 ;  60 : 219-227  [cross-ref]

Cliccare qui per andare alla sezione Riferimenti</sup> In the mature prostate androgens are believed to act upon prostatic smooth muscle (which expresses AR) to maintain a fully differentiated growth-quiescent epithelium via paracrine stromal–epithelial interactions.<sup>25 Cunha G.R., Hayward S.W., Dahiya R. , e al. Smooth muscle-epithelial interactions in normal and neoplastic prostatic development Acta Anat (Basel) 1996 ;  155 : 63-72  [cross-ref]

Cliccare qui per andare alla sezione Riferimenti, 84 Nemeth J.A., Lee C. Prostatic ductal system in rats: Regional variation in stromal organization Prostate 1996 ;  28 : 124-128  [cross-ref]

Cliccare qui per andare alla sezione Riferimenti</sup> The role of the epithelial AR is apparently restricted to regulating secretory functions.<sup>29 Donjacour A.A., Cunha G.R. Assessment of prostatic protein secretion in tissue recombinants made of urogenital sinus mesenchyme and urothelium from normal or androgen-insensitive mice Endocrinology 1993 ;  131 : 2342-2350  [cross-ref]

Cliccare qui per andare alla sezione Riferimenti</sup> Growth factors are obvious candidates for the mesenchymally produced paracrine androgen-regulated factors (andromedins) that act on the epithelium.