Short-term primary culture of rat prostate tumor epithelial cells on reconstituted basement membrane as a useful in vitro model to assess drug action on prostatic cancer: efficacy of the thiazolidinedione derivative CGP 19984.

A model system has been developed that permits short-term culture of rat R3327 prostate adenocarcinoma epithelial cells on a reconstituted basement membrane. Growth of prostate tumor cells under these conditions resulted in an enriched epithelial cell population that exhibited an eightfold increase in cell number in 10 days. This model system was used to test the efficacy of the thiazolidinedione derivative CGP 19984, a drug that inhibits luteinizing hormone secretion in vivo. At concentrations ranging between 1 and 25 micrograms/ml, CGP 19984 inhibited growth of the prostate tumor epithelial cells in a dose-dependent manner. The results thus demonstrate a direct effect of CGP 19984, which complements its indirect antitumor action in vivo, and suggest that this drug might be an effective agent for treatment of prostatic cancer. Moreover, growth of prostate tumor epithelial cells on a reconstituted basement membrane provides a useful system for in vitro testing of drugs for prostate cancer.