Effect of cholesterol onin vitrocultured interstitial Cajal-like cells isolated from guinea pig gallbladders

BACKGROUND Loss and/or dysfunction of interstitial Cajal-like cells (ICLCs) in the gallbladder may promote cholesterol gallstone formation by decreasing gallbladder motility. AIM To study the effect of cholesterol on the proliferation and apoptosis of ICLCs from guinea pig gallbladders. METHODS Guinea pig gallbladder ICLCs were isolated and culturedin vitro. The cells were exposed to cholesterol solutions at different concentrations (0, 25, 50, and 100 mg/L) for 24 h. Then, cell proliferation was detected by the CCK-8 method and the apoptosis rate was detected by flow cytometry. Further, the expression of the c-Kit protein was detected by Western blot and the expression level ofc-KitmRNA in the cells was detected by real-time quantitative PCR. RESULTS After ICLCs were cultured with cholesterol at concentrations of 25, 50, and 100 mg/L, the proliferation rates decreased significantly (P< 0.05), whereas the apoptosis rates increased significantly (P< 0.05). Moreover, the expression of c-Kit protein and mRNA decreased significantly (P< 0.05). CONCLUSION High cholesterol concentrations can inhibit the proliferation of ICLCs and promote apoptosis. This decrease in the ICLC proliferation rate might be caused by the inhibition of the stem cell factor/c-Kit signaling pathway.