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Updated: Aug 18, 2026
Isolation of Cancer Stem Cells From Human Prostate Cancer Samples
Published on: March 14, 2014
The Sca-1 cell surface marker enriches for a prostate-regenerating cell subpopulation that can initiate prostate
Li Xin1, Devon A Lawson, Owen N Witte
1Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
Abstract:
Sca-1 (stem cell antigen-1) enriches for murine prostate cells capable of regenerating tubular structures containing basal and luminal cell lineages in a dissociated cell prostate regeneration system. Sca-1(+) fractions are enriched for cells at the G(0) stage of the cell cycle, and Sca-1(+) cells cluster in the proximal region of prostatic tubules where replication-quiescent cells have been localized. Castration-induced enrichment for androgen-independent cells results in a concomitant enrichment for Sca-1(+) cells. Genetic perturbations of PTEN/AKT signaling in prostate-regenerating cells leads to the initiation of tumorigenesis, and cancer progression is associated with a dramatic increase in Sca-1(+) cells. Sca-1-enriched prostate-regenerating cells possess multiple stem/progenitor cell properties and can serve as targets for cancer initiation.
