Figure 2.

RA Inhibits Hepatoma Cell Proliferation. Next, we examined the effect of RA on hepatoma cell proliferation using the CCK-8 assay. RA treatment inhibited cell proliferation in a time- and dose-dependent manner in HepG2 cells. RA-induced cytotoxicity was also observed under a microscope. The images show that as the concentration of RA increased, the density of hepatoma cells decreased. Moreover, the cells shrank and died more. These observations were in line with the results of the CCK-8 assay (A). As a control, we also examined the effect of RA on NHA. RA treatment for 24 hrs or 48 hrs did not significantly affect NHA cell viability and morphology (B). These results indicated that RA specifically inhibited the proliferation of hepatoma cells, with no significant effect on the proliferation of NHA