Isolation and characterization of human prostate stem/progenitor cells.

Isolation of prostate epithelial cells with stem/progenitor characteristics may enable further evaluation of the hierarchy of prostate glandular development and malignant transformation. Prostate epithelial cells capable of sphere formation in semisolid cultures possess stem/progenitor cell characteristics. This is demonstrated by self-renewal (via indefinite passaging) and in vivo differentiation into prostate tubules with discreet basal and luminal layers. Here, we describe a method for isolating prostate stem/progenitor cells from human tissues via in vitro prostasphere formation. Prostate tissue regeneration using human prostaspheres is also described, enabling the differentiation potential of sphere-forming cells to be observed.