Figure 1.

Characterization of human prostate in organotypic culture. Paraformaldehyde-fixed paraffin sections were examined morphologically and immunostained for several prostatic cell markers before culture (A-E) and after 4 days (I) or 17 days (F-H, J, K) of culture. (A, F): a mix of normal and hyperplasic glands (identified by stars) were observed in the tissue sections before and after 17 days of culture. The overall morphology of the organ was preserved after 17 days of culture despite a loss of stromal cells in some areas (F). The markers used for the characterization of prostatic cell types were: – α smooth actin for smooth muscle and myofibroblastic stromal cells (B, G); – p63 for basal epithelial cells (C, H); – PSA for secretory luminal epithelial cells (D, I, J); – Ki67 for proliferating cells (E, K). The results are representative of a minimum of three independent cultures performed on prostates collected from different donors. Scale bars = 50 μm.