Epithelial Phenotypes in the Developing Human Prostate

Guy Letellier ¹, Marie-José Perez ¹, Mokrane Yacoub ¹, Pierre Levillain ¹, Olivier Cussenot ¹ and Gaëlle Fromont ^1*

¹ Services de Pédiatrie (GL,M-JP) et d’Anatomie Pathologique (MY,PL,GF), Centre Hospitalier Universitaire - Université de Poitiers, Poitiers, France, and INSERM EMI 03-37, Créteil, France (OC,GF)

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: g.fromont{at}chu-poitiers.fr.

Submitted on January 19, 2007
Accepted on 5 April 2007

	Abstract

An intermediate population has been identified in prostate glands, named transiently amplifying (TA) cells, characterized by co-expression of basal and luminal cytokeratins (CKs), high proliferation, and lack of p27 expression. These cells are rare in the normal adult prostate and increase in pretumoral conditions, but their importance in the developing gland remains unknown. We analysed on fetal prostates the expression of CKs (5/6, 18, 19) and factors involved in proliferation and apoptosis: p63, Ki67, p27, EGFR, Bcl2, androgen receptor (AR). Immunostaining was performed on a tissue microarray including 40 prostates from foetuses aged 13-42 weeks, and normal prostate tissue from 10 adults. In both solid buds and basal compartment of canalised glands, cells expressed p63, CK5/6, CK19, CK18, BCL2, EGFR, and were p27 negative. Luminal cells of foetal canalised glands continue to express CK19, EGFR and BCL2, without p27 expression. In contrast, adult epithelial luminal cells showed diffuse AR and p27 expression, without CK19, BCL2 and EGFR staining. Proliferation was high and diffuse in foetal glands, rare and restricted to basal cells in adult glands. These results indicate that most of foetal epithelial prostatic cells exhibit the phenotype of TA cells, suggesting their regulatory function in prostate development.

Key Words: development, differentiation, human prostate, immunohistochemistry, tissue array analysis

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