Cell to cell interactions influence sensitivity of liver cell lines during hyperthermia.

BACKGROUND: Thermal cancer therapy is used for hepatocellular carcinoma treatment. In this study we investigated the effect of hyperthermia on liver cells and compared data of our different cell culture fibrosis models (transwell vs. co-culture model). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The cell lines HepG2 and LX-1 were seeded in different numbers in transwells to simulate different grades of fibrosis and then heated from 55°C to 85°C for different time spans. Thereafter, metabolic activity was measured. RESULTS: Heating at 65°C showed that the greater the number of LX-1 cells treated together with HepG2 cells the lower the metabolic activity of HepG2 cells was. Compared to our previous co-culture study, there were significantly different results in cell survival from 55°C to 75°C. CONCLUSION: The co-culture fibrosis model is more physiological than the transwell model because it allows a higher seeding density and a higher degree of cell to cell interactions. Therefore, it is more efficient for investigating the effect of hyperthermia on liver cells.