NGF-BETA, NE-CELLS AND PROSTATIC-CANCER CELL-LINES - A STUDY OF NEUROENDOCRINE EXPRESSION IN THE HUMAN PROSTATIC-CANCER CELL-LINES DU-145, PC-3, LNCAP, AND TSU-PR1 FOLLOWING STIMULATION OF THE NERVE GROWTH-FACTOR-BETA

Neuroendocrine (NE) cells are present in both benign and malignant hum an prostate. However, their function is poorly understood, mainly due to the lack of suitable experimental models. The nerve growth factor-b eta (NGF-beta) promotes the rat pheochromocytoma cell line PC-12 to di fferentiate into neuronal like cells. We have studied the effect of NG F-beta on four human prostate cancer cell lines, LNCaP, DU-145, PC-3, and TSU-pr1.NGF-beta stimulates the growth rate in all these cell line s, but does not induce a neuronal phenotype. NE tumour markers (chromo granin A [CgA] and chromogranin B[CgB]) could not be demonstrated by i mmunocytochemistry (CgA and CgB), Northern blotting (CgA), or ELISA te chniques (CgA), neither in control nor in NGF-beta stimulated cells. C onsequently, other experimental models have to be sought in the study of NE cells in the human prostate.