Differential epithelial cell-type specific CD expression provides a
powerful means of identifying cell types related by lineage and, thus,
of distinguishing progenitor cells from intermediate cells and
terminally differentiated epithelial cells. We have identified a
number of such CD markers that are specific for the parenchymal cells
of the prostate, including the fibromuscular stromal cells and the
basal and luminal
epithelial cell types of the prostate. These markers greatly augment
cytokeratins for use in cell-type analysis and increase our ability to
identify a greater number of cell types as exemplified by the
differentiation of luminal and cancer cells (both of which express
luminal-type cytokeratins.) The overall goal of this project is to
characterize and isolate epithelial stem cell populations from two
urologic organs, the prostate and bladder.
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