Branching Morphogenesis of the Prostate

The prostate is a male sex accessory organ whose development is regulated by androgens and mesenchymal/epithelial interactions. The organ comprises branched epithelial ducts within a stroma consisting of fibroblasts and smooth muscle as well as other compo-nents such as vasculature and nerves. The function of the prostate is to produce secretions that make up part of the seminal fluid, though it is not certain if these are essential for fertility or sperm fixnction. There has been considerable interest in the identification of molecules and pathways that regulate prostatic growth, due to their relevance in prostatic disease. Few studies have focussed direcdy on prostatic branching though some have identified factors or pathways that play a role in prostatic growth and branching morphogenesis. Several pathways have been identified that appear to influence growth of the prostate and the process of branching mor-phogenesis simultaneously. However, genetic evidence suggests that prostatic growth and pro-static branching morphogenesis are processes that are independently regulated. The prostate is not one of the organs widely used for studies of branching morphogenesis, though this seems unfortunate as there are many factors which suggest that this organ would be an excellent model for the study of branching. These are: the ease with which these organs can be grown in vitro, the fact that the prostate is not required for viability, and the late genesis and growth of this organ relative to others during organogenesis.