Murine prostate micro-dissection and surgical castration

Mouse models are used extensively to study prostate cancer and other diseases. The mouse is an excellent model with which to study the prostate and has been used as a surrogate for discoveries in human prostate development and disease. Prostate micro-dissection allows consistent study of lobe-specific prostate anatomy, histology, and cellular characteristics in the absence of contamination of other tissues. Testosterone affects prostate development and disease. Androgen deprivation therapy is a common treatment for prostate cancer patients, but many prostate tumors become castration-resistant. Surgical castration of mouse models allows for the study of castration resistance and other facets of hormonal biology on the prostate. This procedure can be coupled with testosterone reintroduction, or hormonal regeneration of the prostate, a powerful method to study stem cell lineages in the prostate. Together, prostate micro-dissection and surgical castration opens up a multitude of opportunities for robust and consistent research of prostate development and disease. This manuscript describes the protocols for prostate micro-dissection and surgical castration in the laboratory mouse.