"The Plasticity of the Human Prostate Gland"
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Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer, both disorders of cell differentiation and cell proliferation, are major causes of morbidity and mortality in elderly men. Androgens are required for normal prostatic development and tissue homeostasis. The composition of normal prostatic epithelium includes the complex interaction of the phenotypically distinct cell types regulated by androgens and growth factors. It has now become apparent how these individual cell lineages share a common origin, and are related in a precursor-progeny sequence. In this precursor-progeny sequence the basal epithelial compartment plays a fundamental role in normal prostatic growth as well as in the initiation and progression of at least some forms of prostate cancer. Because prostate disease, both malignant and benign, involves inappropriate cell division and differentiation, it is important to identify the stem cell and amplifying populations, and to understand the role of different cell phenotypes in the homeostasis and development of the prostatic tissue. Since stem cells are considered the major target of oncogenesis, knowledge of the features of the prostatic stem cells could help us to understand the mechanism involved in prostatic carcinogenesis.