Activated rat hepatic stellate cells influence Th1/Th2 profile in vitro

Figure 1 Effect of co-culturing on viability of activated hepatic stellate cells and CD4⁺ T lymphocytes. A: Proliferation of activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs); B: Proportion of viable CD4⁺ T lymphocytes when cultured alone or co-cultured together (n = 3). OD: Optical density; data are expressed as mean ± SD. ^aP < 0.05 vs cultured alone; ^bP < 0.01 vs control.

Figure 2 Effect of co-culturing on Th1/Th2 profile. A: Proportion of CD4⁺ T lymphocytes identified as Th1 and Th2 cells; B: Mean fluorescence intensity of interferon (IFN)-γ in Th1 cells and interleukin (IL)-4 in Th2 cells assessed by flow cytometry when cultured alone or co-cultured for 48 h with activated hepatic stellate cells (n = 10). Data are expressed as mean ± SD. ^aP < 0.05, ^bP < 0.01 vs control.

Figure 3 Effect of co-culturing on apoptosis of Th1 and Th2 cells. Apoptosis rates were assessed after 24 h by flow cytometric analysis of caspase-3 staining in CD4⁺ T lymphocytes cultured alone or co-cultured with activated hepatic stellate cells (n = 10). Data are expressed as mean ± SD; ^bP < 0.01 vs control.

Figure 4 Galectin-9 expression in activated hepatic stellate cells. A: Immunofluorescence analysis of galectin-9 expression (left panel, green) in activated rat hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) (right panel, nuclear costain) (magnification × 400); B: Western blot analysis of galectin-9 expression in activated rat HSCs cultured alone or co-cultured with CD4⁺ T lymphocytes (n = 5). Data are expressed as mean ± SD. ^aP < 0.05, cultured alone vs co-cultured.

Figure 5 Effect of co-culturing on Th1 and Th2 cell differentiation. CD4⁺ T lymphocytes with differentiation potential were co-cultured for 48 h with activated hepatic stellate cells (n = 5). Data are expressed as mean ± SD; ^aP < 0.05, Th1 vs Th2.