The activation of rat hepatic stellate cells stimulated with hepatitis B virus in vitro

Objective To observe the effects of HBV on rat hepatic stellate cells (HSC) .Methods HSC were isolated by the method of Friedman and HBV was purified by concentrated sucrose gradient.HSC were stimulated with different concentrations of HBV for 24 hrs and the supernatant procollagen Ⅲ was found to be detected.Cells with increased procollagen Ⅲ secretion were selected to check for the intracellular C/EBPs, PPARγ, RAR expression to investigate if HBV had affected the HSC activation pathway.Results Secretion of procollagen III by HBV stimulated rat HSC was concentration dependent.At the concentration of 3.0 × 105 copies/ml, secretion of procollagen Ⅲ increased significantly.The expression of C/EBPs decreased significantly, while the RAR receptor expression was increased and PPARγ remained unchange.Conclusion HBV has a direct stimulus on HSC to promote the synthesis of procollagen Ⅲ, which may be associated with C/EBP decrease and RAR increase.