ECM-free patient-derived organoids preserve diverse prostate cancer lineages and uncover in vitro-enriched cell types

Patient-derived organoids (PDOs) hold promise for modeling various cancers, yet their application in prostate cancer (PCa) has been limited due to low culture success and the predominance of non-tumor-like cells. Using 164 PCa samples and optimizing culture conditions, we demonstrate that an extracellular matrix (ECM)-free culture method improves PDO take-rates, fostering cell populations with luminal and PCa-specific characteristics. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) reveals that these ECM-free PDOs closely mirror their original tumors at the transcriptomic level and maintain a diverse array of tumor cell types, unlike traditional Matrigel-based cultures which predominantly yield benign-like cells. This study introduces a PCa PDO single-cell atlas, providing a valuable resource for advancing prostate cancer research.

• Type: RNASeq
• Archiver: European Genome-phenome Archive (EGA)