Isolation and identification of the hepatic stellate cells from ICR mice

OBJECTIVE To establish an economic method for the isolation and identification of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) from mice. METHODS HSCs were isolated from the liver of ICR mice weighted about 30g by Type IV collagenase and Dnase I digestion. To isolate HSCs of mice, we used the method of noncontinuous density gradient centrifugation by Percoll solution. The viability of the isolated cells was determined by trypan blue staining assay. HSCs were identified by Oil Red O staining and immunocytochemical staining of desmin. RESULTS The average number of the HSCs from a single mouse liver was 6.5× 10 5 . The viability of the cells was over 91% and the purify was over 92%. CONCLUSION This study establishes a convenient and effective scheme for the isolation and identification of the HSCs from the ICR mice.