The activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) plays an essential role in the progression of liver fibrosis and the induction of HSCs apoptosis may attenuate or reverse fibrogenesis. the unfolded protein response Flumazenil regulators CHOP BIP caspase-12 p-eIF2α and IRE1α which are considered endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress markers were upregulated by VP-16. The strong inhibitory effect of VP-16 on LX-2 cells was mainly dependent on ER stress which activated JNK signaling pathway. Remarkably VP-16 treatment decreased the expression of α-SMA and type I collagen and simultaneously increased the ratio of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) to tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases (TIMPs). In contrast VP-16 induced significantly more apoptosis in HSCs than in normal hepatocytes. Taken together our findings demonstrate that VP-16 exerts a proapoptotic effect on LX-2 cells and has an antifibrogenic effect Flumazenil on collagen deposition suggesting a new strategy for the treatment of liver fibrosis. Liver fibrosis is usually a reversible wound-healing response to all etiologies of liver disease including chronic viral hepatitis alcoholic beverages consumption fatty liver organ disease cholestasis and autoimmune hepatitis1. Continual fibrogenesis leads to cirrhosis and major liver organ cancer sometimes. A key breakthrough in understanding fibrosis was that hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) will be the major effector cell in the liver organ. In the standard liver organ HSCs are nonproliferative and quiescent plus they reside in the area of Disse. Their primary function is certainly to store supplement A and various other retinoids. Upon liver organ damage HSCs proliferate and transform right into a myofibroblast-like phenotype; they exhibit α-smooth muscle tissue actin (α-SMA) and secrete surplus extracellular matrix (ECM) which is certainly mostly type I collagen2. HSCs also create a tissues inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases (TIMPs) hence shifting the total amount from the ECM on the deposition of collagen and adding to fibrosis3. Because HSCs play a crucial role in Flumazenil liver organ fibrosis the quality of fibrosis requires pathways that trigger either HSCs apoptosis senescence or reversion with their quiescent stage2. Apoptosis can be an important system for cell clearance. Lately antifibrotic drug analysis IFI30 has centered on the advertising of apoptosis in turned on HSCs; certainly the induction of HSCs apoptosis by gliotoxin proteasome inhibition or sorafenib decreases liver organ fibrosis4 5 6 Hence the induction of apoptosis in turned on HSCs through the recovery stage of liver organ fibrosis symbolizes a healing antifibrogenic technique. Etoposide(VP-16) is among the hottest cancer chemotherapy agencies for improved treatment of a number of individual malignant tumors including major liver cancers7 8 9 Prior studies have got indicated that VP-16 activity is certainly mediated by its relationship with topoisomerase II which leads to DNA strand breaks that are lethal to the cell10. Recent reports have exhibited that VP-16 may possess an uncharacterized cytotoxic function via other channels such as the induction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) the stimulation of Akt/mTOR signaling and the activation of caspase-311 12 13 Additionally the action of VP-16 can be either p53-dependent or p53-impartial14 15 The mechanism by which VP-16 initiates the intracellular apoptotic pathway is not well understood; nevertheless it may vary from cell type to cell type. However it is usually unknown whether VP-16 affect the apoptosis of HSCs. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the influence of VP-16 treatment on liver fibrosis in the LX-2 cell line by investigating the effects of VP-16 around the proliferation apoptosis and collagen expression of HSCs. Results VP-16 inhibits the proliferation of HSCs and induces G2/M cell cycle arrest LX-2 cells were incubated for 72?h in medium with VP-16 at a range of concentrations (0 1 2 4 8 16 and 32?μM) and the cell viability Flumazenil was evaluated using the CCK-8 assay. As shown in Fig. 1a the cell viability was significantly reduced by VP-16 in a dose-dependent manner and the IC50 value was 3.48?μM which is much lower than the values reported for various types of tumor cells16 17 Next we treated LX-2 cells with low-dose VP-16 over a course of 72?h. The CCK-8 assay analysis demonstrated the time-dependent anti-proliferation aftereffect of VP-16 (Fig. 1b). Furthermore VP-16 treatment nearly inhibited the forming of LX-2 cells colonies as completely.