Oxymatrine liposome attenuates hepatic fibrosis via targeting hepatic stellate cells

Figure 2 Oxymatrine liposomes induced apoptosis in hepatic stellate cells in vitro. A: Inhibitory effect of oxymatrine (OM) on hepatic stellate cell (HSC) viability in vitro. HSCs were isolated and treated with OM in different liposomal formulations. Cell viability was determined using MTT assay; B: Electron micrograph of untreated HSCs demonstrates the normal structure of HSCs. OM-liposome-treated (24 h) HSCs had morphological features of apoptosis: cell shrinkage and apoptotic body formation. OM-RGD-liposome-treated HSCs showed typical morphological features of apoptosis: cell shrinkage and apoptotic body formation. RGD-liposome-treated HSCs showed normal structure; C: Cell cycle analysis after induction of apoptosis in HSCs by OM via flow cytometry. The cells were incubated with different formulation of OM for 24 h, and stained with PI. MTT: 3-(4,5)-dimethylthiahiazo(-z-y1)-3,5-diphenytetrazoliumromide; RGD: Arg-Gly-Asp; PI: Propidium iodide; DI: DNA grading index.