LAUSR

Studies have showed that human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs) could ameliorate liver fibrosis through inhibiting the activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). However, the specific mechanisms have not studied clearly. The purpose of this study was to explore the possible mechanism of HGF-transfected hUCMSCs in inhibiting the proliferation and activation of HSCs-T6. The upper and lower double-cell co-culture system was established between HGF-hUCMSCs, LV5-NC-hUCMSCs, hUCMSCs and HSCs-T6 in experimental groups; HSCs-T6 were cultured alone as control group. After co-culturing for 1, 2, and 3 days, results showed that HGF-transfected hUCMSCs can decrease cell viability of HSCs-T6 and promote apoptosis; inhibit their activation and reduce the expression of Collagen Ⅰ, Collagen Ⅲ, TGF-β1, Smad2 and Smad3, which may be related to inhibiting the activation of TGF-β1/Smads signaling pathway. These findings suggested that HGF-transfected hUCMSCs may be used as an alternative and novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of liver fibrosis.