Does the microenvironment influence the cell types of origin for prostate cancer?

Despite several recent studies addressing the cells of origin for prostate cancer, there is still considerable discussion in the field regarding the most relevant target populations for transformation. Tissue regeneration studies have pointed to a basal cell origin for mouse and human prostate cancer. In contrast, genetically engineered mouse models demonstrate that cells within both the basal and luminal layers can initiate murine prostate cancer. Based on differences between these two approaches, we propose that further work should address the requirement for microenvironmental components such as immune or mesenchymal cells on epithelial cell types of origin for prostate cancer.