美國(guó)Genentech的研究人員通過讓小鼠反復(fù)經(jīng)歷雄性激素缺乏和雄性激素補(bǔ)充的周期，其前列腺會(huì)反復(fù)縮小和再生,。這表明存在前列腺干細(xì)胞,。
研究人員曾用不同細(xì)胞表面標(biāo)記來識(shí)別前列腺干細(xì)胞的候選目標(biāo)，但它們對(duì)前列腺干細(xì)胞都沒有特異性?，F(xiàn)在，Leong等人報(bào)告說,，他們識(shí)別出細(xì)胞因子受體CD117（也叫c-kit或干細(xì)胞因子受體）為一種罕見的小鼠前列腺干細(xì)胞群的一個(gè)標(biāo)記,。利用這個(gè)標(biāo)記，并結(jié)合其他方法,，他們分離出了在移植到活小鼠體內(nèi)后能生成一個(gè)可以發(fā)揮功能的前列腺的單個(gè)細(xì)胞,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原始出處：
Nature 456, 804-808 (11 December 2008) | doi:10.1038/nature07427
Generation of a prostate from a single adult stem cell
Kevin G. Leong1, Bu-Er Wang1, Leisa Johnson1 & Wei-Qiang Gao1
1 Department of Molecular Biology, Genentech, Inc., 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California 94080, USA
The existence of prostate stem cells (PSCs) was first postulated from the observation that normal prostate regeneration can occur after repeated cycles of androgen deprivation and replacement in rodents1. Given the critical role of PSCs in maintaining prostate tissue integrity and their potential involvement in prostate tumorigenesis2, it is important to define specific markers for normal PSCs. Several cell-surface markers have been reported to identify candidate PSCs, including stem cell antigen-1 (Sca-1, also known as Ly6a), CD133 (Prom1) and CD44 (refs 3–10). However, many non-PSCs in the mouse prostate also express these markers and thus identification of a more defined PSC population remains elusive. Here we identify CD117 (c-kit, stem cell factor receptor) as a new marker of a rare adult mouse PSC population, and demonstrate that a single stem cell defined by the phenotype Lin-Sca-1+CD133+CD44+CD117+ can generate a prostate after transplantation in vivo. CD117 expression is predominantly localized to the region of the mouse prostate proximal to the urethra and is upregulated after castration-induced prostate involution—two characteristics consistent with that of a PSC marker. CD117+ PSCs can generate functional, secretion-producing prostates when transplanted in vivo. Moreover, CD117+ PSCs have long-term self-renewal capacity, as evidenced by serial isolation and transplantation in vivo. Our data establish that single cells in the adult mouse prostate with multipotent, self-renewal capacity are defined by a Lin-Sca-1+CD133+CD44+CD117+ phenotype.
