The proliferative enhancement of HCC cells by H-CAFs was partially mediated by HGF in a paracrine model.

<p>(A) The level of SDF-1, HGF, TGF-β and EGF in the conditioned medium derived from H-CAFs was determined by ELISA. H-CAFs and PTFs secreted HGF at significantly higher levels than NLFs, whereas NSFs secreted almost no detectable HGF. However, NSFs secreted a higher level of SDF1 than the other three fibroblast types. TGF-β and EGF secretion were similar for the four fibroblast types. (B) Cell proliferation increased upon exposure to different concentrations of HGF, as demonstrated by CCK-8 tests. HGF promoted HCC cell proliferation at all concentration levels. (C) The increase in proliferation of HCC cells as mediated by H-CAF conditioned medium was significantly antagonized by HGF-neutralizing antibody. Moreover, anti-HGF did not interfere with the proliferation of 97L cells. (* <i>P</i><0.05; ** <i>P</i><0.01).