Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 18, 2026
09:06
Isolation of Stem-like Cells from 3-Dimensional Spheroid Cultures
Published on: December 13, 2019
Isolation and functional characterization of murine prostate stem cells
Devon A Lawson1, Li Xin, Rita U Lukacs
1Department of Microbiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
Summary
Researchers identified specific cell surface markers to isolate prostate stem cells, crucial for understanding prostate development and disease. This method enriches for stem cells, enabling their self-renewal and differentiation for further study.
Area of Science:
- Urology
- Stem Cell Biology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Isolating prostate stem cells is critical for studying prostate development and diseases.
- Understanding stem cell behavior requires effective enrichment and self-renewal assays.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify specific cell surface markers for isolating functional prostate stem cells.
- To characterize the self-renewal and differentiation potential of isolated prostate stem cells.
Main Methods:
- Utilized in vitro colony- and sphere-forming assays to measure stem/progenitor cell enrichment.
- Employed immunohistochemical and Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorting (FACS) analyses to screen cell surface markers.
- Sorted cells based on a defined antigenic profile (CD45(-)CD31(-)Ter119(-)Sca-1(+)CD49f(+)).
Main Results:
- Identified specific markers to distinguish various prostate cell lineages (stromal, luminal, basal, hematopoietic, endothelial).
- Achieved a 60-fold enrichment of colony- and sphere-forming cells using the CD45(-)CD31(-)Ter119(-)Sca-1(+)CD49f(+) profile.
- Demonstrated that isolated cells possess self-renewal capacity, differentiate into prostatic structures in vivo, and localize to the stem cell niche.
Conclusions:
- The identified antigenic profile enables isolation of prostate stem cells with high purity (up to 1 in 35).
- These isolated cells exhibit stem cell characteristics, including self-renewal and differentiation.
- The conserved cell surface markers suggest potential applications across different epithelial stem cell populations.
