Endothelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Tumor Microenvironment Promotes Neuroendocrine Differentiation of Prostate Cancer.

ABSTRACT: Neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC) is a highly aggressive and treatment-resistant subtype of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) that often emerges during progression under androgen-receptor (AR) pathway inhibition. While lineage plasticity in cancer cells has been recognized as a key mechanism of resistance, the role of the tumor microenvironment in driving this transition remains unclear. Among its cellular components, vascular endothelial cells can undergo endothelial-mesenchymal transition (EndoMT), a phenotypic shift associated with tumor progression and fibrosis. Here, we investigated whether EndoMT contributes to NEPC development. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were induced to undergo EndoMT using IL-1β and TGF-β2, and are hereafter referred to as EndoMTed

SUBMITTER: Kageyama T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12485659 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature