Investigation of non-prostatic in vitro prostate-specific membrane antigen expression in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast tumour cells

Prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) was probed in breast carcinoma cell lines (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231). The expression was qualitatively and quantitatively compared to LNCaP cells, which are prostate carcinoma cells that are known to express PSMA at high levels. Confocal microscopy was used to qualitatively identify PSMA in the breast and prostate cancer cells. Flow cytometry was also applied in PSMA qualitative identification and also used as a semi-quantitative tool. Absolute quantitation was undertaken utilising the Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Cell enumeration was used as a indicator of relative viability and the assay utilised was the crystal violet assay.