Figure 8

Schematic drawing depicting aspects of the aged prostate of male Mongolian gerbils and the telocytes ’relationships with other relevant tissue components. (A) The prostate of three-month-old animals (adults) has a compact layer of perialveolar smooth muscle; the telocytes occupy the periepithelial region, as well as the interstitium, surrounding the layer of perialveolar smooth muscle. (B) In the prostate of 24-month-old (senile) animals, the smooth muscle layers become thinner as the prostatic alveoli become more dilated. There is a great increase in the presence of extracellular matrix in the prostatic stroma, especially among smooth muscle cells. (C) In blood vessels of the adult prostate, telocytes establish cellular contacts with endothelial cells, and their cytoplasmic extensions, the telopodes, extend between the endothelial cells and the pericytes. (D) In the prostate of senile animals, telocytes secrete VEGF and are TNFR1-positive. Tc (Telocyte), Fb (Fibroblast), SMC (Smooth muscle cell), Ep (Prostate epithelium), Pc (Pericyte), EC (Endothelial cell).