Experimental alcoholism and pathogenesis of prostatic diseases in UChB rats Eduardo Marcelo Ca ˆndido a , Ce ´sar Alexandre Fabrega Carvalho a , Francisco Eduardo Martinez b , Vale ´ria Helena Alves Cagnon a, * a Department of Anatomy, Institute of Biology, State University of CampinasdUNICAMP, P.O. Box 6109, Campinas, 13083970 S~ ao Paulo, Brazil b Department of Anatomy, Institute of Biosciences, State University of S~ ao PaulodUNESP, Botucatu, S~ ao Paulo, Brazil Received 28 July 2006; revised 24 September 2006; accepted 5 November 2006 Abstract Previous studies have shown that long-term alcohol treatment has negative effects on prostatic stromaleepithelial interaction. Thus, the aim of the present study was to analyze the histochemical, immunohistochemical and ultrastructural alterations that occur in the prostatic stroma and epithelium of rats submitted to chronic alcohol ingestion and alcohol abstinence, as well as to establish the relationship between these changes and prostatic diseases. Thirty male rats (10 Wistar and 20 UChB rats) were divided into three experimental groups: the control group received tap water, the alcoholic group received ethanol diluted to 10  G.L. for 150 days, and the abstinent group received the same liquid diet as the alco- holic group up to 120 days of treatment and only tap water for 30 days thereafter. At the end of treatment, all animals were sacrificed and the ventral lobe of the prostate was removed and processed for histochemical, immunohistochemical and ultrastructural analyses. In addition, plasma testosterone levels were measured. The results showed prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia, infolding of the epithelium towards the stroma, stromal hypertrophy and the presence of inflammatory cells in alcoholic animals. In the abstinent group, alterations were noted mainly in the stromal area. In conclusion, ethanol triggers alterations in prostatic epithelial and stromal compartments, affecting the stromal microenvironment and predisposing the organ to pathological processes. Ó 2006 International Federation for Cell Biology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Alcoholism; UChB rat; Prostate; Stromaleepithelial interaction; Morphology 1. Introduction Alcoholism is a disease found worldwide and is one of the most frequent clinical diagnoses, causing morbidity and pre- mature death (Caces et al., 1995; Campbell et al., 1996). In the United States, excessive alcohol consumption is the third main preventable cause of death and is associated with adverse health consequences such as liver cirrhosis and different types of cancer (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2004). Alcohol and its metabolites cause generalized disturbances in various organ systems such as the nervous, digestive, urinary and male reproductive systems, including the acces- sory sex glands (Marks and Wright, 1978; Martinez et al., 2001a,b; Gomes et al., 2002). Animal models have contributed to the elucidation of many biological, biochemical, physiological and morphological aspects involved in the habit of consumption of alcoholic bev- erages by humans. Various experimental studies conducted on mice (Erwin et al., 1980) and rats (Tabakoff and Ritzmann, 1979; Waller et al., 1983) have emphasized the alcohol prefer- ence of some rodent lines which showed rapid metabolic adap- tation to the initial effects of ethanol ingestion. This is the case of UChB rats which present acute and rapid tolerance to ethanol (Tampier and Mardones, 1999). These rats, originating * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ55 19 3788 6102; fax: þ55 19 3289 3124. E-mail address: quitete@unicamp.br (V.H.A. Cagnon). 1065-6995/$ - see front matter Ó 2006 International Federation for Cell Biology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.cellbi.2006.11.009 Cell Biology International 31 (2007) 459e472 www.elsevier.com/locate/cellbi