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. 2019 Mar 24;13(1):169–181. doi: 10.1080/19336918.2019.1594497

Figure 1.

Figure 1.

Cell morphology of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). (a and b). Human LX-2 HSCs (A) and rat HSCs (B) cultured on a 2D polystyrene surface (2D PS) showed a flattened morphology without cellular processes and were spread out with well-developed lamellipodia and actin stress fibers (top). LX-2 cells and rat HSCs were stained with rhodamine-conjugated phalloidin (F-actin), an antibody against Arp3 (a marker of lamellipodia) and DAPI (nuclear DNA). Human LX-2 HSCs (A) and rat HSCs (B) cultured in 3D floating collagen matrices (3D FCM) exhibited stellate or dendritic morphologies and long, slender cellular processes (bottom). LX-2 cells and rat HSCs cultured in 3D FCM were stained with rhodamine-conjugated phalloidin (F-actin). Images were photographed ≥ 150 μm away from the surface with a confocal microscope. (c). Immunofluorescence staining for GFAP (green) in the liver tissues from mice injected with CCl4 revealed that the GFAP-positive cells, HSCs, had expanded extended cellular processes along the sinusoids, which is similar to the phenotype in 3D FCM. (d). Immunofluorescence staining for α-SMA (green) of activated HSCs in human fibrosis liver showed long cellular processes along the fibrotic septa. Scale bars = 40 and 5 μm (insets).