Immunohistochemical characteristics of estrogen receptorα positive cells in glandular epithelium of the rat seminal vesicle

Epithelial cells of the rat seminal vesicle stained positively for nuclear estrogen receptor alpha (ER alpha). We studied these cells using immunohistochemical means. We demonstrated in a previous study that some glandular epithelial cells of the seminal vesicles of immature castrated rats treated with estrogen for 1-2 weeks had multilayer features. The present study shows that these glandular epithelial cells are nuclear ER and basal cell-specific cytokeratin (34 beta E12) positive. These findings suggested characteristics of basal cells. Moreover, we demonstrated that these cells express transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF beta 1) as a result of castration and estrogen treatment. Our findings indicate that glandular epithelial cells with multilayer features, which stained positively for nuclear ER alpha have basal cell features and may play an important role in the expression of TGF beta 1 through an epithelial-stromal interaction.