title: Cytokeratin 18 is not required for morphogenesis of developing prostates but contributes to adult prostate regeneration.
abstract: Cytokeratin 18 (CK18) is a key component of keratin-containing intermediate filaments and has long been used as a classic luminal cell marker in prostatic tissue. However, the in vivo function of CK18 in prostate is not known so far. We reported in this study, unexpectedly, that deletion of CK18 in a mouse model did not affect the morphological or the histological structures of adult prostate, as the CK18 knockout prostate displayed a normal glandular ductal structure, branching pattern, and composition of both luminal and basal cells. However, CK18 loss compromised the regenerative tubular branching in dorsolateral prostate after castration and androgen replacement. Therefore, in contrast to its importance as luminal cell marker, CK18 is dispensable for the prostate morphogenesis but contributes to adult prostate regeneration.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Stem Cell Research Center, Renji Hospital, 160 Pu Jian Road, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200127, China ; Med-X Research Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China.
authors.forename: Chenlu
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9810-411X
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Stem Cell Research Center, Renji Hospital, 160 Pu Jian Road, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200127, China ; Med-X Research Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China.
authors.forename: Yanjing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Stem Cell Research Center, Renji Hospital, 160 Pu Jian Road, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200127, China ; Med-X Research Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Stem Cell Research Center, Renji Hospital, 160 Pu Jian Road, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200127, China ; Med-X Research Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China.
authors.forename: Helen He
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Stem Cell Research Center, Renji Hospital, 160 Pu Jian Road, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200127, China ; Med-X Research Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China.
authors.forename: Wei-Qiang
authors.initials: WQ
authors.lastname: Gao
mesh_terms: D000728:Androgens / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002369:Castration; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D053538:Keratin-18 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009024:Morphogenesis / Q000235:genetics*; D011467:Prostate / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D012038:Regeneration / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D000728:Androgens; D053538:Keratin-18