Prostate cancer is the second most common form of cancer in males, affecting one in eight men by the time they reach the age of 75. The disease continues to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality in men, but a method for accurate prognosis in these patients is yet to be developed necessitating a search for new molecular markers and continued investigation of prostate cancer cell biology.
Cell lines have been used in the search for biomarkers that are suitable for prostate cancer diagnosis. Many studies have only involved single cell lines, partially characterised cell lines or were performed without non-malignant controls, potentially undermining effective biomarker discovery.

By utilising a larger panel of prostate cell lines, we discovered that cell lines transfected with HPV-18 display an aberrant pattern of protein and gene expression compared to SV40 or non-immortalised cancer cells. Through this discovery process we found that the critical process of endosomal biogenesis might be altered in prostate cancer. Microarray analysis of clinical cohorts confirmed these changes and were further delineated in fresh-frozen prostate cancer tissue by qRT-PCR.

The discrimination of prostate cancer cell lines can be further achieved using a various spectroscopic methods; utilising quantitative mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS), non-invasive FTIR analysis and fluorescent detection of lipids in live cells by imaging with confocal microscopy we identified specific phospholipids and cholesteryl ester species that could distinguish between aggressive and non-aggressive cellular phenotypes and that could act as potential biomarkers for prostate cancer. It is possible to discriminate between cancer and non-malignant cells using a luminescent metal complex ReZolve-L1 that interacts with polar lipids. These technologies can be employed to find new candidates that have significant biomarker potential.

 

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