Abstract: Objective To explore the effect and mechanism of hepatocyte growth factor in the prevention and treatment of peritoneal fibrosis. Method MTT method was used to measure the proliferation of cultured rat peritoneal mesothelial cells (RPMC) after stimulation by hepatocyte growth factor. ELISA was applied to examine the quantity of FN, TGF-β1 and PAI-1 in the cultured supernatants. RT-PCR was used to detect the expression of FN mRNA, PAI-1 mRNA, and TGF-β1 mRNA in RPMC. Results Hepatocyte growth factor (>30ng/ml) improved the inhibition of RPMC proliferation induced by high glucose. In RPMC incubated in dialysate containing high glucose (4.25%), FN, TGF-β1 and PAI-1 in cultured medium increased significantly, and FN, TGF-β1 and PAI-1 mRNA in these cells also increased. In RPMC incubated with hepatocyte growth factor, however, FN, TGF-β1 and PAI-1 in cultured medium decreased with the down-regulation of FN, TGF-β1 and PAI-1 mRNA in these cells. Conclusion Hepatocyte growth factor improves the inhibition of RPMC proliferation induced by high glucose, and down-regulates the expression of FN, TGF-β1 and PAI-1 in RPMC.

Key words: Peritoneum, Fibrosis