Abstract 3111: Expansion of mouse prostate epithelial stem cells in serum-free ProstaCult Organoid Growth Medium

• Published in: Cancer research (Chicago, Ill.) Ill.), 2018-07, Vol.78 (13_Supplement), p.3111-3111
• Main Authors: Stingl, John, Rowbotham, David, Thomas, Terry E., Eaves, Allen C., Louis, Sharon A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0008-5472; 1538-7445
• DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.AM2018-3111

Growing prostate epithelial cells as organoids in a three-dimensional (3D) cell culture environment represents a more physiological model system than conventional 2D adherent cell culture systems for studying many different aspects of prostate epithelial cell biology. Two types of prostate epithelial organoids have been previously described: large hollow cystic organoids, and smaller solid organoids (Karthaus et al, Cell 2014). Both types of organoids are composed of androgen receptor (AR)-expressing luminal cells and keratin (K) 5-expressing basal cells, but only vary in the proportion of each cell type, with the cystic organoids enriched for luminal cells and solid organoids enriched for basal cells. We are currently developing ProstaCult™ Organoid Growth Medium, a serum-free medium for the long-term propagation of both types of organoids from mouse prostate tissue. To initiate the cultures, mouse prostates are enzymatically dissociated sequentially in collagenase type II, trypsin and dispase to generate a single cell suspension, and 5x103 the liberated cells are then embedded in Corning® Matrigel® and cultured in ProstaCult™ Organoid Growth Medium. Approximately 10±2% (mean±sem; n=6) of the seeded cells will proliferate and generate approximately equivalent numbers of cystic and solid organoids, which can be dissociated and passaged every 7 days as a single cell suspension. Typical total epithelial cell expansion observed during media development ranges from 21-240-fold per passage for a minimum of 4 passages. Experiments are ongoing to determine the long-term passageability of organoids maintained in ProstaCult™ Organoid Growth Medium. Organoids that are generated at multiple passages are composed of a polarized epithelium with AR+K18+ luminal cells and K5+ basal cells. These results demonstrate that ProstaCult™ Organoid Growth Medium efficiently generates and expands prostate epithelial organoids. Citation Format: John Stingl, David Rowbotham, Terry E. Thomas, Allen C. Eaves, Sharon A. Louis. Expansion of mouse prostate epithelial stem cells in serum-free ProstaCult Organoid Growth Medium [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3111.