Human Prostate Epithelial Cells: HPrEpC (L). HPrEpC immunolabeled for cytokeratin 18 (R).
Human Prostate Epithelial Cells: HPrEpC
Human Prostate Epithelial Cells (HPrEpC) are primary epithelial cells isolated from normal human prostate tissue.
Description
Human Prostate Epithelial Cells (HPrEpC) are primary cells isolated from normal human prostate tissue and provide a human-relevant in vitro platform for studying prostate epithelial biology and pathology. As a defined epithelial cell type, HPrEpC are used to investigate how hormonal regulation and epithelial signaling programs maintain normal tissue homeostasis and how these programs become dysregulated in prostate cancer. Because prostate cancer can arise from distinct epithelial states, primary prostate epithelial cells are valuable for examining mechanisms that shape cell state transitions and how tumor-associated signaling differs from normal human prostate epithelial cell responses.
HPrEpC have been used to characterize pathway-specific responses to growth factors in primary prostate epithelial cells. For example, studies have shown that TGF-β1 can drive phosphorylation of specific Smad proteins and that BMP signaling can exhibit different Smad activation patterns in primary epithelial cells compared with cancer cells, where BMP may also activate additional Smad signaling associated with tumorigenesis. This type of finding supports the scientific use of HPrEpC to dissect normal signaling logic in human prostate epithelium and to contrast it with altered pathway activity in cancer progression.
Functionally, HPrEpC can be used to model key epithelial compartments that include basal cells and luminal epithelial cells, as well as intermediate epithelial populations that may represent transitional cell states. These models support study of how pro-cancer phenotypes emerge, including prostate cancer progression processes relevant to prostate adenocarcinoma and tumor cell behavior. In translational research contexts, HPrEpC are also used alongside prostate cancer cell lines and prostate organoids to compare normal human prostate epithelial cell programs with prostate cancer cells, helping clarify the signals that regulate cancer initiation and progression in prostate cells.
When cultured in prostate epithelial cell medium, HPrEpC maintain epithelial-like morphology consistent with an epithelial cell origin and can be characterized by epithelial marker expression such as cytokeratin (including cytokeratin 18). As a cancer-relevant primary cell system that preserves aspects of normal human prostate epithelial biology, HPrEpC support studies of cell state, signaling, and tumor-associated alterations — at the scale of individual cells (single cell analyses) and across basal epithelial cell– and luminal epithelial cell–associated biology.
Human Prostate Epithelial Cells (HPrEpC) are isolated from normal human prostate and provide a useful tool for studying various aspects of pathology and biology of the human prostate epithelium in vitro.
HPrEpC and Human Mammary Epithelial Cells (HMEpC), both from Cell Applications, Inc., have been used in a study demonstrating that TGF-b1 induces Smad 1/5/8 and Smad 2/3 phosphorylation and BMP signaling results only in Smad 1/5/8 phosphorylation in these primary epithelial cells, while in cancer cells BMP also elicits Smad2/3 activation, contributing to cancerogenesis.
Characterization: Morphology consistent with epithelial origin, and positive for epithelial cell marker cytokeratin 18
Details
| Tissue | Normal healthy human prostate | |
|---|---|---|
| QC | No bacteria, yeast, fungi, mycoplasma, virus | |
| Bioassay | Attach, spread, proliferate in Growth Med | |
| Cryovial | 500,000 HPrEpC (2nd passage) frozen in Basal Medium w/ 10% FBS, 10% DMSO | |
| Kit | Cryovial frozen HPrEpC (934-05a), Growth Medium (215-500), Subcltr Rgnt Kit (090K) | |
| Proliferating | Shipped in Tsfr Med, psg 3, flasks or plates | |
| Doublings | At least 12 | |
| Applications | Laboratory research use only (RUO). Not for human, clinical, diagnostic or veterinary use. |
Resources
FAQs
Need More Help?
Visit our comprehensive FAQ page for detailed answers to common questions.
Need More Help?
Visit our comprehensive FAQ page for detailed answers to common questions.
Primary Cell FAQs
Powered by Bioz