Findings in prostate cancer described from Tongji University

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Drug Week -- Investigators discuss new findings in Prostate Cancer. According to news reporting originating from Shanghai, People's Republic of China, by NewsRx correspondents, researchers stated "Prostate cancer (PCa) is heterogeneous and contains both differentiated and undifferentiated tumor cells, but the relative functional contribution of these two cell populations remains unclear. Here we report distinct molecular, cellular, and tumor-propagating properties of PCa cells that express high (PSA(+)) and low (PSA(-/Io)) levels of the differentiation marker PSA."

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research by the authors from Tongji University, "PSA(-/Io) PCa cells are quiescent and refractory to stresses including androgen deprivation, exhibit high clonogenic potential, and possess long-term tumor-propagating capacity. They preferentially express stem cell genes and can undergo asymmetric cell division to generate PSA(+) cells. Importantly, PSA(-/Io) PCa cells can initiate robust tumor development and resist androgen ablation in castrated hosts, and they harbor highly tumorigenic castrationresistant PCa cells that can be prospectively enriched using ALDH(+)CD44(+)alpha 2 beta 1(+) phenotype. In contrast, PSA(+) PCa cells possess more limited tumor-propagating capacity, undergo symmetric division, and are sensitive to castration."

According to the news editors, the researchers concluded: "Altogether, our study suggests that PSA(-/Io) cells may represent a critical source of castration-resistant PCa cells."

For more information on this research see: The PSA(-/Io) Prostate Cancer Cell Population Harbors Self-Renewing Long-Term Tumor-Propagating Cells that Resist Castration. Cell Stem Cell, 2012;10(5):556-569. Cell Stem Cell can be contacted at: Cell Press, 600 Technology Square, 5TH Floor, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; Cell Stem Cell - www.elsevier.com/wps/product/cws_home/711543)

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting J.C. Qin, Tongji Univ, East Hosp, Res Center Translat Med, Canc Stem Cell Inst, Shanghai 200120, People's Republic of China (see also Prostate Cancer).

Keywords for this news article include: Asia, Shanghai, Genetics, Hormones, Oncology, Prostate Cancer, Stem Cell Research, Prostatic Neoplasms, People's Republic of China, Androgens and Anabolic Steroids

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