Expression and significance of CD markers in the hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines with different metastatic potential

Objective To evaluate the expression of several CD cell markers and investigate their significance in hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines with different metastatic potential. Methods Three human hepatocellular cell lines,HepG2,MHCC-97H and SK-HEP-1 were cultivated by routine method.Single cell suspension was achieved by digestion with trypsin.After CD133,CD90,CD44, CD34 and CD24 antibody labeling,cells were analyzed by flow cytometry. Results CD133+ cells represented only a very small subpopulation in three hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines(0.1%~0.4%).In addition,CD90+,CD44+ and CD90+CD44+cells were detected in the three cell lines and the percentage increased with the development of metastatic potential(P﹤0.05).The expression rates of CD44+CD24+ cells in HepG2,MHCC-97H and SK-HEP-1 were 0.05%,10.3% and 0.3%,respectively(P﹤0.05).Furthermore,no CD34+ or CD133+CD90+ expression was observed in the three cell lines. Conclusion CD90 and CD44 are significantly correlated with the metastatic potential of hepatocellular carcinoma cells and may be prospective markers for hepatocellular carcinoma stem cells.