Objective It is thought that loss of sensitivity to TGF-β1 may be an important contributing factor in the development of hepatomas. The aim of the present study was to determine the relationship between the effect of TGF-β1 and apoptosis in human hepatoma cell lines. Methods Three human hepatoma cell lines, involving different status of the p53 gene respectively, were used in this study. TGF-β1-induced apoptosis in hepatoma cell lines was quantitated using the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay. Results Among three cell lines studied with TUNEL assay, addition of TGF-β1 induced apoptosis only in HepG2 cells (expressing wild type p53). In contrast, Huh-7 (expressing mutant p53) and Hep3B (no p53 expression) cell lines lacked apoptosis. It was indicated that there is positive correlation between the rate of apoptosis and status of p53 in hepatoma cell lines. Conclusion HepG2 cells seemed to be highly susceptible to TGF-β1-induced apoptosis compare with Hep3B and Huh-7 cell lines. It seems that TGF-β1 induces apoptosis in hepatnoma cell lines through a p53-dependent pathway.%目的肝细胞对TGF-β1敏感性的丧失据认为是肝癌重要的致病因素之一.本研究旨在明确人肝肿瘤细胞系中TGF-β1的作用及其与凋亡的关系.方法选用三种含不同p53基因状态的人肝肿瘤细胞系,应用脱氧核糖核苷酸末瑞转移酶介导的dUTP缺口末端标记技术(TUNEL)对TGF-β1诱导的肝肿瘤细胞的凋亡进行定量检测.结果在应用TUNEL检测三个细胞系中,TGF-β1仅能诱导Hep3B细胞(缺失p53)则凋亡较少.这提示凋亡p53基因的表达具有明确的联系.结论 HepG2细胞系比Huh-7和Hep3B系细胞更易发生TGF-β1诱导的凋亡,TGF-β1通过p53依赖性途径诱导肝癌细胞系发生凋亡.
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