The isolation and characterization of epithelial cells from canine prostate

Background. Prostate cancer causes approximately 40,000 deaths in the United States annually (1,2). Adenocarcinoma of the prostate occurs primarily in two species. human and dog (3,4). Although less common in dogs, the etiologic factors responsible for spontaneous canine prostate cancer are presumably the same as for humans. Given the similar etiology and epidemiology of the disease among the two species, a model of canine prostate epithelial cells would be a powerful tool to study the disease. Methods. Prostate epithelial cells were isolated from a sexually intact, adult beagle, and primary cultures established. Epithelial clones were immortalized by transfection with the Simian Virus 40 large T-antigen cDNA. Cells were characterized using immunohistochemical techniques. Results. The immortal prostate epithelial cell line expresses cytokeratin-18, and prostatic acid phosphatase, markers specific for prostate epithelial cells. K-9PE-I, a stable, fast growing, canine prostate epithelial cell line is available for further study. Conclusions. A cell based model of canine prostate epithelium was isolated, immortalized, and characterized. The cell line will be available for further study of prostate disease.