Role of all-trans retinoic acid in the differentiation of hepatic progenitor cells

Abstract:

Objective：To investigate the effect of all-trans retinoic acid （ＡＴＲＡ） in the differentiation of hepatic progenitor cell. Methods：The hepatic progenitor cell was isolated from E14.5 mouse liver and transfected with pALB-Luc，in which the ex－pression of luciferase was driven by （Albumin，ALB） promoter. The concentration of ATRA based on the expression of ALB was optimized. The change of differentiation markers of （Alpha fetal protein，AFP），（Delta like，DLK），（Cytokeratin19，CK19） and ALB in the hepatic progenitor cell treated with ATRA was evalu－ated by RT-PCR. The morphological change was observed by HE staining and PAS staining. Results：The expression of ALB was the highest when the cell was treated with ATRA a concentration of 1 μmol/L. Compared with control group，the expressions of early markers of DLK and CK19 more clearly decreased while AFP and ALB were increased in experimental group. The morphological changes were mainly enlargement of cellular size，decrease of karyoplasms ratio and increase of glycogenesis. Conclusion：ATRA can induce the differentiation of hepatic progenitor cell，especially at the concentration of 1 μmol/L.