Isolation and Characterization of Prostate Cancer Stem Cells
Abstract
Cells derived from various organs and tumors that exhibit sphere-like growth in vitro include stem and early progenitors. Therefore, human prostate epithelial cells that can develop into "prostaspheres" may allow enrichment and characterization of these rare cell types. We have generated an extensive collection of prostaspheres, derived from normal and cancerous prostate specimens from patients undergoing urologic surgery at UCLA Medical Center. These prostaspheres have been evaluated for the functional abilities to self-renew and differentiate into the full complement of prostate epithelial cell types. In addition to interrogating stem-cell qualities, we evaluated whether normal and cancer prostaspheres could be distinguished. To do this, we performed FISH analysis on paraffin-embedded prostaspheres with probes detecting the TMPRSS-ERG translocation that has been described in the majority of human prostate cancers. We found that although approximately 70% of the prostate cancer specimens in our collection displayed the TMPRSS-ERG rearrangement, it was not present in the prostaspheres. The aims of our project are to define factors that enable prostate cancer cells containing the TMPRSS-ERG translocation to be isolated and maintained in vitro and in vivo so that cancer stem/progenitor populations can be characterized and interrogated.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA525482
Entities
People
- Isla P Garraway
Organizations
- University of California, Los Angeles