Growth and characterization of LNCaP prostate cancer cell spheroids Journal Article


Authors: Ballangrud, A. M.; Yang, W. H.; Dnistrian, A.; Lampen, N. M.; Sgouros, G.
Article Title: Growth and characterization of LNCaP prostate cancer cell spheroids
Abstract: Cells from the prostate tumor cell line LNCaP have been grown as spheroids. The growth kinetics of the spheroids have been characterized by fitting a Gompertz equation to spheroid growth curves. The proliferation state of cells within spheroids of different diameters was assessed by bromodeoxyuridine staining, Scanning and electron transmission microscopy were performed to determine the ultrastructure of the spheroids. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) secretion was monitored throughout spheroid growth. Consistent with Gompertzian kinetics, the volume of LNCaP spheroids initially increased exponentially and then reached a plateau. The doubling time during the exponential phase was 29 +/- 4 h. A core of nonproliferating cells was seen in spheroids,vith a diameter of 400 mu m; at a diameter of 600 mu m, a necrotic core had formed. In smaller, 200-mu m diameter spheroids, a core of nonproliferating cells was not seen, but proliferating cells were concentrated at the spheroid periphery. Electron microscopy showed that the spheroids were enveloped by an extracellular matrix and that cell adhesion within the spheroids was due in part to desmosomes, PSA secretion by the spheroids could be modeled as originating from a spherical shell whose thickness was independent of overall spheroid diameter. The shell thickness obtained by fitting an appropriate equation to the data was consistent with that determined from the bromodeoxyuridine studies. LNCaP cells exhibit several important features of prostate cancer cells; irt vivo, they are androgen responsive, and they express prostatic acid phosphatase, PSA, and prostate-specific membrane antigen. LNCaP spheroids provide a simple but relevant model for the study of drug delivery and response in prostate cancer.
Keywords: antigen; kinetics; carcinoma; therapy; model; invitro; multicellular tumor spheroids
Journal Title: Clinical Cancer Research
Volume: 5
Issue: 10
ISSN: 1078-0432
Publisher: American Association for Cancer Research  
Date Published: 1999-10-01
Start Page: 3171S
End Page: 3176S
Language: English
ACCESSION: WOS:000086691600030
PROVIDER: wos
PUBMED: 10541360
Notes: Article; Proceedings Paper -- Presented at the 7th Conference on Radioimmunodetection and Radioimmunotherapy of Cancer that took place October OCT 15-17, 1998 in Princeton, NJ -- Source: Wos
Citation Impact
MSK Authors
  1. George Sgouros
    146 Sgouros
  2. Nina M Lampen
    11 Lampen
  3. Wei Hong Yang
    19 Yang