Round two.

During androgen deprivation (or castration), the prostate gland partially involutes, mainly through loss of luminal epithelial cells. When androgens return, the gland regenerates. This study finds that the regenerative process is driven largely by proliferation of luminal epithelial cells, as opposed to stem cells, in a process similar to liver regeneration. The well-differentiated epithelial cells that persist during castration undergo a reprogramming of sorts that results in stemlike gene expression. Luminal cell proliferation is also driven by paracrine growth factor signaling from prostate mesenchymal cells. Because these luminal cells are the cell of origin for most prostate cancers, understanding how prostate cancer cells might exploit this regenerative capacity could have important implications for prostate cancer therapy. TBL: Luminal prostate epithelium has a fascinating stemlike capacity for regeneration that is strongly influenced by androgen signaling. | Karthaus, Science 2020