Researchers at UCLA have discovered a link between progenitor cells and age-related prostate growth. The study found that the prostates of older mice contained more luminal progenitor cells than the prostates of younger mice. Progenitor cells are cells that are capable of generating new prostate tissue.
The results of the study, published in Cell Reports, may help explain why the prostate grows as people age. Prostate growth can increase the risk of prostate cancer and other conditions.
Understanding the cause can help develop preventative treatments. Currently, alpha blocker medications are the most common treatment for enlarged prostate. Over-the-counter supplements, such as Prostagenix, are also used by men with enlarged prostates.
Most of the organs in the body lose mass over time, including the kidney, liver and spleen. Muscle and bone mass also decrease as we age. The prostate, on the other hand, grows with age. This growth is the reason why more than half of men over the age of 60 have benign prostatic hyperplasia, also known as BPH.
BPH impacts the urethra, which is responsible for carrying urine out of the bladder.
Previous research had shown that the number of progenitor cells diminished in organs that lose mass with age.
Progenitor cells are similar to stem cells in that they can differentiate into new cells. However, progenitor cells are more restricted in the types of cells they can become. Ones located in the prostate, for example, can only become prostate tissue.
Prior to this study, science had not yet discovered whether levels of progenitor cells or stem cells in the prostate changed with age.
As part of the study, Andrew Goldstein - member of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA and a UCLA assistant professor of urology and of molecular, cell, and developmental biology - and his colleagues compared the prostates of mice in two groups: young (3 months old) and old (24 months old).
The prostates in the older mice were larger and heavier compared to those in the younger mice. Researchers then isolated luminal cells from these mice, and they were able to grow them to form prostate organoids. Researchers found that these luminal cells from the older mice were just as effective at forming prostate organoids than those in younger mice. In fact, the organoids from the older cells were typically larger.
When looking more closely at the luminal cells, researchers found that the older prostates had higher concentrations of luminal progenitor cells. The higher concentration of these cells, along with their ability to form new tissue, helps to explain why the prostate grows with age and the risk of developing prostate cancer is increased.
