Three-dimensional (3D) cell cultures allow the mimic of functions of living tissues andprovide key information encoded in tissue architecture. Considered the pivotal role of epithelial-tomesenchymaltransition (EMT) in carcinoma progression, including prostate cancer (PCa), weaimed at investigating the effect of the 3D arrangement on the expression of some key markers ofEMT in cultured human prostate cancer (PCa) cells, to better understand PCa cell behavior. PC3 andDU145 PCa cells were cultured in RPMI cell culture medium either in 2D-monolayers or in 3Dspheroids.The main EMT markers E-cadherin, N-cadherin, α-smooth muscle actin (αSMA),vimentin, Snail, Slug, Twist and Zeb1 were evaluated by confocal microscopy, real-time PCR andWestern blot. Confocal microscopy revealed that E-cadherin was similarly expressed at the cellboundaries on the plasma membrane of PCa cells grown in 2D-monolayers, as well as in 3Dspheroids,but resulted up-regulated in 3D-spheroids, compared to 2D-monolayers, at the mRNAand protein level. Moreover, markers of the mesenchymal phenotype were expressed at very lowlevels in 3D-spheroids, suggesting important differences in the phenotype of PCa cells grown in 3Dspheroidsor in 2D-monolayers. Considered as a whole, our findings contribute to a clarification ofthe role of EMT in PCa and confirm that a 3D cell culture model could provide deeper insight intothe understanding of the biology of PCa.
Keywords: 3D-spheroids; CD44; E-cadherin; epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition; prostate cancer.