Regenerative potential of prostate luminal cells revealed by single-cell analysis

Abstract

Equal opportunity tissue regeneration Tissue regeneration is thought to be driven primarily by rare stem cells with distinctive properties. Single-cell RNA sequencing allows rigorous testing of this hypothesis. Karthaus et al. examined the regeneration of normal prostate tissue in mice after androgen ablation, a common treatment for prostate cancer (see the Perspective by Kelly). Unexpectedly, they found that in addition to rare stem cells, a large population of differentiated cells was a major contributor to prostate regeneration, a result that they confirmed in a study of human prostate tissue. Investigation of the molecular mechanism by which the differentiated cells acquired regenerative potential yielded insights that could potentially lead to improved therapies for prostate cancer. Science , this issue p. 497 ; see also p. 467