Immortalized Mouse Urogenital Sinus Mesenchymal Cells (UGSM-2)

The Immortalized Mouse Urogenital Sinus Mesenchymal Cells (UGSM-2) are derived from a subline of the INK4a mouse, a transgenic knockout that lacks p16INK4a and p19ARF, which are specific inhibitors of cyclin-dependent kinases Cdk4 and Cdk6 that regulate cell cycle progression. UGSM-2 cells display a myofibroblast phenotype in culture with vimentin and smooth muscle actin expression, and is shown to respond to androgen stimulation.Co-culture of UGSM-2 cells with human prostate epithelium cells BPH-1, or co-grafting <i>in vivo</i> results in organized clusters of BPH-1 cells surrounded by a mantle of the UGSM-2 cells. The cells are responsive to Sonic hedgehog (SHH), an important signaling factor in prostate development, and mimic the transcriptional response of the intact UGS mesenchyme. This cell line is a useful model for studying the prostate stroma-epithelium signalling way, which plays an important role in prostate development and cancer progression.