Experimental Models for Studying Tissue-Specific Responses

Abstract

Transcending most other aspects of androgenic responses is the satisfactory solution of tissue specificity. Something of an impasse exists because current methods for analysing the binding of androgens have provided few insights into the underlying maintenance of tissue specificity. An alternative approach is to monitor the androgenic regulation of a tissue-specific protein and its specific messenger RNA, but suitable systems have only recently been developed for such work. Two factors militated against an extension of studies on the induction of rat prostate aldolase; first, the prostate (type A) aldolase is not tissue-specific and second, it represents but a minor fraction of the total protein of soluble extracts of the prostate, approximately 0.1% only. Two other systems, however, offer hope for future investigations.