The effects of self-assembling peptide RADA16 hydrogel on malignant phenotype of human hepatocellular carcinoma cell

The aim of this study will provide a self-assembling peptide (RADA16-I) -derived hydrogel as a tool for investigation the malignant phenotype of human hepatocellular carcinoma cell. Characteristic analysis indicated that the peptide consists of a well-defined secondary structure and self-assembly property. Our results showed that these cells cultured in RADA16-I hydrogels showed a spindle-shaped phenotype with irregular and radial nuclei. Immunohistochemical results showed that the expression of fibronectin in hepatocellular carcinoma cells is positive cultured in RADA16-I hydrogels, and the expression levels of laminin are weakly positive. DNA contents cultured in RADA16-I hydrogel gradually increased up to Day 9. The expression levels of VEGFA, EGF and FGF2 in three hydrogels showed no statistically significant differences (P > 0.05), and the expression levels of IGF-1 in RADA16-I and collagen-I were significantly lower than those of in the Matrigel hydrogel (P ≤ 0.05). These findings suggested that the RADA16-I will help to provide a better physiological substrate for hepatocellular carcinoma cell culture, may serve as an ideal model for cancer biology research of tumorigenesis, growth, local invasion, and metastasis.