Introduction: Cell-cell communication is an important process in healthy tissue but also gains enhanced attention regarding pathological tissue. To date, the tumor microenvironment is gradually brought into focus when studying tumorigenesis. In the prostate gland, stromal and epithelial cells greatly interact to maintain homeostasis or tissue integrity.
This study focuses on an indirect communication via soluble factors. Methods: To investigate the cell-cell interaction via soluble factors, the prostate carcinoma cell line LNCaP and the stromal primary cells p21 were co-cultured without direct contact and RNA was isolated at defined time points.
Differences in gene expression were finally analyzed by RNA sequencing. Results: RNA sequencing revealed a time-depending differential expression profile. Selected factors were subsequently characterized at molecular level and analyzed in human prostate tissue of different developmental stages as well as pathology. Conclusion: Overall, this work provides a basis for further studies related to paracrine stromal-epithelial interaction in prostate carcinoma and highlights the importance of GALNT The prostate gland is mainly composed of epithelial and stromal cells working in a close meshwork.
This stromal-epithelial interaction is a relevant process during prostate development as well as in normal tissue and eventually in pathological prostate tissue.
During organogenesis, mesenchymal cells induce the development of epithelial buds due to a paracrine action 1. It is thought that this interaction is reactivated especially in benign prostatic hyperplasia BPH and might also play a role in prostate cancer PCa 2. For a long time, the focus in the development of PCa was set on the neoplastic glandular epithelial cells themselves and the role of the adjacent stroma was underestimated.
