Prostate Organoid from Stem Cells

Researchers construct a 3-D cell model of the prostate gland and use it to show that BPA exposure may increase the risk of cancer in the organ.

Written byJef Akst

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Micrograph of prostate carcinomaWIKIMEDIA, NEPHRONDifferentiating human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) into the various cell types of the prostate gland, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) have built a miniature prostate organoid. Measuring about 1 millimeter in size, the 3-D cell culture expresses the same biomarkers found in the adult organ.

Using the model, the team demonstrated that exposure to bisphenol A (BPA), a common chemical in plastics, may stimulate the overproduction of prostate stem cells, thereby increasing a man’s risk of cancer—a finding the reaffirms previous studies in animal models and adult cell cultures. The researchers published their results today (July 29) in PLOS ONE.

“This is as definitive as it gets, when it comes to the effect of BPA on the developing prostate,” study lead Gail Prins of the UIC College of Medicine, said in a press release. “It produces an abnormally high number of prostate stem cells in the tissue, and these nests are a strong candidate for why exposure to BPA during development has been linked to prostate cancer later in life.”

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Meet the Author

Jef Akst
Jef (an unusual nickname for Jennifer) got her master’s degree from Indiana University in April 2009 studying the mating behavior of seahorses. After four years of diving off the Gulf Coast of Tampa and performing behavioral experiments at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, she left research to pursue a career in science writing. As The Scientist's managing editor, Jef edited features and oversaw the production of the TS Digest and quarterly print magazine. In 2022, her feature on uterus transplantation earned first place in the trade category of the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers.
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