Establishment and characterization of a new human prostatic cancer cell line: DuCaP

The lack of appropriate, clinically relevant, cell-based model systems has limited prostate cancer research and the development of new therapeutic modalities. Here we report the isolation and characterization of a new adherent prostate cancer cell line, derived from the dura mater of a cancer patient.

Prostate cancer tissue was harvested at autopsy from a metastatic lesion to the dura mater of a patient with hormone refractory prostate cancer. This tissue was xenografted into SCID mice and later harvested and plated on tissue culture dishes. For characterization, soft agar clonegenic assay, in vivo xenograft growth, in vitro doubling time, karyotype analysis, immunocytochemistry for cytokeratin-18, androgen receptor, and PAP (prostatic acid phosphatase) expression, RT PCR for PAP, PSMA (prostate specific membrane antigen), expression and northern and western blot analysis to determine expression of Rb and p53, were performed.

DuCap grows in vitro (passage 55), forms colonies in soft agar, produces tumors in SCID mice (xenograft passage 12), and is androgen sensitive. DNA content was hypertriploid. PSA was detected in mouse serum and media. Cells were AR, PAP and cytokeratin-18 positive by immunocytochemistry. PSMA and PAP were detected by RT-PCR. AR, P53, and Rb were expressed in Northern blot analysis. P53 protein was detected in Western blot analysis but Rb protein was not.

This cell line exhibits many phenotypic characteristics of clinical prostate carcinoma, including expression of PSA, PSMA, PAP and AR.