Genome-wide transcriptome analysis of human benign prostatic basal and luminal epithelial populations reveals the unexpected findings that basal cells preferentially express gene categories associated with stem cells, neurogenesis, and rRNA biogenesis. Importantly, the basal cell gene expression profile is enriched in clinically advanced, anaplastic, castration-resistant, and metastatic prostate cancers.
Keywords: Basal stem cells; human prostate epithelial cells; neurogenesis; prostate cancer; transcriptome.