The human prostate and prostatic secretions contain antigens which are shared by other organs and tissues. However, there are major antigens which are specific to the prostate and are also found in the secretions and excretions of the male urogenital tract. Crossspecific reactions may be obtained with monkey (Macaque) prostatic tissue, but not with those of nonprimate species.

The accessory gland antigens of dogs and other laboratory species are even more highly specific, and not shared by the nonreproductive organs tested. Accessory gland antigens of the rat are shared by at least three other rodential species: mouse, hamster, and gerbil, but not with guinea pig or rabbit.

The rat tissue antigens also show a functional dependency upon testosterone. In castrated animals, this dependency is expressed through incomplete development of secretory tissue antigens in the urine during maturation; in the suppression of the antigens in the accessory tissues of adult animals; and in the restoration of antigens in both tissues and urine following testosterone replacement therapy.

Rabbit accessory gland autoantigen, an extremely specific protein found in rabbit Coagulating gland, seminal vesicle, and prostate, is shown to be effective in eliciting antibodies through isoinjection, cryosurgery by direct exposure of the vesiculo-coagulating gland complex to liquid nitrogen and through intraperitoneal cannulation of the male tract. This macromolecule is also found to be androgen-dependent, appearing in detectable amounts in the rabbit accessory gland complex around the age of puberty (10-13 weeks).

Castrated adult male rabbits treated with testosterone and cryosurgerized, iso-immunized or cannulated give prompt primary and/or secondary antibody responses to accessory gland antigen. Pretreatment of such animals with estrogen yields poor or negative antibody responses to isoinjections or cryosurgery of the accessory glands. Injection of hormones did not influence the antibody responses of the rabbits to bovine gamma globulins. Furthermore, the accessory tissues of androgenized rabbits were found by serological analysis to contain excessive amounts of the autoantigenic protein.

It is concluded from these results that certain antigenically unique proteins are a prominent feature of male accessory glands and parallel their hormone dependency. Furthermore, knowledge of phylogenetic, reproductive and physiological phenomena associated with these glands can be extended by the use of the experimental models described herein