Correlation between inflammation factors and hepatic cancer stem cell markers during hepatocarcinogenesis

Objective To investigate the correlation between inflammation factors of Kupffer cells and hepatic cancer stem cell markers.Methods 35 male SD rats were divided randomly into two groups:normal group (5 rats)and diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced groups (30 rats).DEN-in-duced groups were given DEN solution in drinking water,while normal group was given normal water. 5 rats of DEN-induced group were sacrificed every 4 weeks,then immunohistochemisty was taken to e-valuate the ED2 expression of Kupffer cells,and the expressions of inflammation factors and hepatic cancer stem cell markers were measured by rt-PCR.Correlation between inflammation factors and he-patic cancer stem cell markers was evaluated by Pearson analysis.Results The HCC model was suc-cessfully established at 24 weeks.Expressions of ED2 gradually increased (P <0.001 ).The rt-PCR results indicated that the expressions of IL-6、MCP-1、TGF-βand TNF-αgradually increased during hepatocarcinogenesis (P <0 .0 5 ),while CD90 expressed a significant increasing in the process (P <0 .00 1 ).Pearson analysis showed CD90 was positively correlated with IL -6 、MCP -1 and TGF -β(P <0.001).Conclusion There is a significant correlation between the increase expressions of IL-6、MCP-1、TGF-βand the up-regulation of CD90 ,which can demonstrate the essential role of Kupffer cells during hepatocarcinogenesis.