CellEDIT - CRISPR-Engineered PC3 Cell Line

The PC3 cell line serves as a valuable cell model for studying advanced androgen-independent prostate cancer (AIPC). Because of this, the PC3 cell line is frequently used in drug discovery research and studies to better understand prostate cancer tumor microenvironment, prostate cancer progression, metastasis and gene expression patterns.

Most prostate cancers are adenocarcinomas that express androgen receptors (AR) and produce prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Unlike typical prostate cancer cell models, PC3 cells lack expression of both AR and PSA, characteristics associated with a more advanced, aggressive and treatment-resistant state of prostate cancer.

In the progression of prostate cancer, initial treatment often involves androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), as most prostate cancer cells depend on androgens for growth. However, a subset of cancer cells can adapt to lower androgen levels, developing mechanisms to survive and proliferate in an androgen-depleted environment. This progression leads to androgen-independent prostate cancer, which the PC3 cell line exemplifies.

PC3 cells, therefore, model the challenging stage of prostate cancer where conventional hormone-based treatments become less effective. They provide researchers with a platform to study the mechanisms of androgen independence and to develop new therapeutic strategies for advanced prostate cancer that have evolved beyond androgen dependence. Recent genomic studies have further characterized the PC3 cell line, confirming known mutations such as homozygous mutations in TP53 and loss of PTEN. These genetic alterations contribute to the aggressive phenotype of PC3 cells and their resistance to various therapies.

Other prostate cancer cell lines include LNCap, 22RV1 and DU1145, which are sometimes used in combination with PC3 to study a panel prostate cancer cell model of increasingly aggressive forms of prostate cancer.

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