Experimental study on the interaction between hepatoma cells and hepatic stellate cells

Objective To investigate the effects of the interaction between human hepatoma cells and hepatic stellate cells on their growth state, and study its role of interaction on the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods Human hepatoma cell line HepG2 and hepatic stellate cell line hepatic stallate cells (HSC)-T6 were used and the methods including methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay, flow cytometry (FCM) analysis, immunohistochemistry, and electron microscopy were employed in this experiment. The effects of conditioned medium (CM) of HepG2 on the activation and proliferation of HSC were explored. The effects of activated HSC CM on HepG2 proliferation were investigated. The ultrastructural changes of the two co-cultured cells were observed. Results MTT assay result showed that HepG2/HSC CM could promote HSC/HepG2 proliferation. FCM result demonstrated that HepG2/HSC CM could influence the cell cycle distribution in HSC/HepG2. Immunohistochemistry exhibited that after the treatment of HepG2/HSC CM, the expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) in HSC and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in HepG2 were increased. When HepG2 and HSC were co-cultured, the ultrastructure of HSC displayed an activated feature. Conclusions HepG2 cells can induce the activation and proliferation of HSC, and the activated HSC can also stimulate the proliferation of HepG2. Interaction between hepatoma cells and hepatic stellate cells may play an important role in the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma. Key words: Liver neoplasms; Hepatocytes; Growth