A novel human cell culture model for the study of familial prostate cancer

Research into molecular and genetic mechanisms underlying familial prostate cancer would be greatly advanced by in vitro models of prostate tumor cells representing primary tumors. We have successfully established an immortalized human prostate epithelial cell culture derived from primary tumors of familial prostate cancer patients with telomerase. The actively proliferating early-passaged 957E cells were transduced through infection with a retrovirus expressing the human telomerase catalytic subunit, human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT). A high level of telomerase activity was detected in 957E/hTERT cells, but not in 957E cells. 957E/hTERT cells are currently growing well at passage 40, whereas 957E cells senesced at passage 5. 957E/hTERT cells exhibit epithelial morphology. Expression of an androgen-regulated prostate specific homeobox gene NKX3.1 and an epithelial cell-specific cytokeratin 8, but not prostate specific antigen or androgen receptor, was detected in 957E/hTERT cells. Prostatic stem cell antigen and p16 were also expressed in this line. 957E/hTERT cells showed growth inhibition when exposed to retinoic acid and transforming growth factor beta1, potent inhibitors of prostate epithelial cell growth. Chromosome analysis showed that the 957E/hTERT cell line (passage 10) was near diploid human male (XY), with most chromosome counts in the 44-46 range. However, there was random loss of chromosomes 8, 13, X, Y, and alteration in chromosome 4q. The late passage 957E/hTERT cell line (passage 32) was karyologically similar to the early passage 957E/hTERT cell line (passage 10) and also had the same alteration of 4q observed in the early passage 957E/hTERT cell line (passage 10) as well as a trisomy of chromosome 20. The well-characterized human cancer lines derived from such patients will be useful for the identification and characterization of prostate cancer susceptibility genes. This is the first documented case of an established human prostate cancer cell line from primary tumor of a familial prostate cancer patient.