Romanian Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences

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A ROBUST, FAST, AND REPRODUCIBLE METHOD FOR ISOLATING HEPATIC STELLATE CELLS FROM C57/BL6 MICE

ANDREI BAICEANU 1,2*#, PIERRE MESDOM 1#, ISABELLE HAINAULT 1, CORINA IONESCU 2, MARIE LAGOUGE 1, FABIENNE FOUFELLE 1

1.INSERM UMRS 1138, Sorbonne Université, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Université Paris Descartes, Université Paris Diderot; Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers, 75006, Paris, France
2.“Iuliu Hațieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, 400012, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
*corresponding author: baiceanu.andrei@umfcluj.ro
#Authors with equal contribution

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Fibrosis is defined by the scarring of various tissues and is attributed to excess deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) components. One of the main contributors to ECM deposition during liver fibrosis, the hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), are localized in the space of Disse, a space situated between the basolateral side of the hepatocytes and the endothelial cells. During liver fibrosis, in response to aggressive factors that induce liver injury, HSCs activate, contributing to an exaggerated deposition of scar tissue in the liver. The aim of this study was to develop an improved HSC isolation technique in order to obtain a constant number of pure and viable HSCs from C57/BL6 mice. Using our protocol we managed to isolate, in average, (1.02 ± 0.34 x 106) HSCs per mouse (n = 11). Subsequently, the isolated HSCs were characterized, their purity was assessed, and they were used in different types of in vitro experiments. The improved HSC isolation protocol we developed was reproducible, less time-consuming, and relatively easy to perform.