AIM: To elucidate the mechanism by which somatostatin and its analogue exert the influence on liver fibrosis, and to investigate the mRNA expression of somatostatin receptors subtypes (SSTRs) and the distribution of somatostatin analogue octreotide in rat hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). METHODS: HSCs were isolated from Sprague Dawley (SD) rats by in situ perfusion and density gradient centrifugation. After several passages, the mRNA expression of 5 subtypes of SSTRs were assessed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). HSCs were planted on coverslip and co-cultured with octreotide tagged by FITC. Then the distribution of FITC fluorescence was observed under laser scanning confocal microscope (LSCM) in 12-24 h. RESULTS: There were mRNA expression of SSTR2, SSTR3 and SSTR5 but not SSTR1 and SSTR4 in SD rat HSCs. The mRNA expression level of SSTR2 was significantly higher than that of other subtypes (P<0.01). FITC fluorescence of octreotide was clearly observed on the surface and in the cytoplasm, but not in the nuclei of HSCs under LSCM. CONCLUSION: The effect exerted by somatostatin and its analogues on HSCs may mainly depend on the expression of SSTR2, SSTR3 and SSTR5. Octreotide can perfectlycombine with HSCs, and thereby exerts its biological activity on regulating the characters of active HSCs. This provides a potential prevention and management against liver fibrosis.
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