The Wnt signaling pathway has been widely investigated in recent years. It has an important role in stem cell self-renewal and differentiation, and aberrant activation of the Wnt signaling pathway has been implicated in human tumor progression[21]. This has raised GM6001 in vivo the EPZ015938 concentration possibility that the tightly regulated self-renewal process that is mediated by Wnt signaling in stem cells and progenitor cells may be subverted in cancer cells to allow malignant proliferation. Wnt signaling regulates genes that are involved in cell metabolism, proliferation, cell-cycle regulation and apoptosis[22]. The present work aimed at evaluating the tumor suppressive effects of MSCs on the in vivo progression of HCC,

and to investigate the possible role of Wnt signaling in tumor tissues by assessing the gene expression profile of some of the Wnt signaling target genes:cyclin D, PCNA, survivin, β-catenin. Methods Ninety albino female rats inbred strain (Cux1: HEL1) of

matched age and weight (6 months-1 year & 120-150 gm) were included in the study. Animals were inbred in the experimental animal unit, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University. Rats were maintained according to the standard guidelines of Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee and after Institutional Review Board approval. Animals were fed a semi-purified diet that contained (gm/kg): 200 casein, 555 sucrose, 100 cellulose, 100 fat blends, 35 vitamin mix, and 35 mineral mix [23]. They were divided equally check details into the following groups:1st control rats group, 2nd group received MSCs only (3 × 10 6 cells intravenously), 3rd group received MSCs solvent, 4th HCC group induced by diethyl-nitroseamine (DENA) and CCl 4 , 5th group received MSCs after induction of HCC, 6th group received MSCs before induction of HCC. Preparation of BM-derived MSCs Bone marrow was harvested by flushing the tibiae and femurs of 6-week-old white albino male rats with Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium

(DMEM, GIBCO/BRL) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (GIBCO/BRL). Nucleated cells were isolated with Immune system a density gradient [Ficoll/Paque (Pharmacia)] and resuspended in complete culture medium supplemented with 1% penicillin-streptomycin (GIBCO/BRL). Cells were incubated at 37°C in 5% humidified CO 2 for 12-14 days as primary culture or upon formation of large colonies. When large colonies developed (80-90% confluence), cultures were washed twice with phosphate buffer saline (PBS) and the cells were trypsinized with 0.25% trypsin in 1 mM EDTA (GIBCO/BRL) for 5 min at 37°C. After centrifugation, cells were resuspended with serum-supplemented medium and incubated in 50 cm2 culture flasks (Falcon). The resulting cultures were referred to as first-passage cultures[24]. On day 14, the adherent colonies of cells were trypsinized, and counted.