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Updated: Apr 8, 2026
An In Vitro Approach to Study Mitochondrial Dysfunction: A Cybrid Model
Published on: March 9, 2022
[Observation of radiobiological characteristics in a HepG2 cell line with mitochondrial DNA deletion]
Hengwen Sun1, Yi Pan, Zijun Zeng
1Department of Radiology, Cancer Center, Guangdong General Hospital/Guangdong Academy of Medical Science, Guangzhou 510080, China.
Objective:
To study the radiobiological characteristics of a HepG2 cell line with mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) deletion.
Methods:
HepG2 cells were cultured in a medium containing ethidium bromide, acetylformic acid and uracil. The HepG2 cell line with mtDNA deletion (ρ(0)HepG2 cells) were acquired after 30 subcultures by limited dilution cloning. The cell survival was then observed in the absence of acetylformic acid and uracil, and the total mtDNA deletion in the cells was confirmed by PCR. The radiosensitivity of HepG2 and ρ(0)HepG2 cells was evaluated by exposure to gradient doses of 6 MV X ray irradiation. The cell apoptosis was assessed following a 2 Gy X-ray exposure with Hochest33342 staining, and the invasiveness of ρ(0)HepG2 cells was measured by Transwell assay.
Results:
HepG2 cells could survive 30 subcultures in the presence of ethidium bromide, and massive cell death occurred after removal of acetylformic acid and uracil from the medium. PCR confirmed total mtDNA deletion from ρ(0)HepG2 cells, whose α/β value was significantly lower than that of HepG2 cells. ρ(0)Hep-G2 cells showed an obviously lowered cell apoptosis rate following X-ray exposure with enhanced cell invasiveness.
Conclusion:
HepG2 cells can be induced by ethidium bromide into ρ(0)HepG2 cells with an increased radiation resistance, anti-apoptosis ability and cell invasiveness.
