The Curious Case of the HepG2 Cell Line: 40 Years of Expertise

Abstract

Liver cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Representing such a dramatic impact on our lives, liver cancer is a significant public health concern. Sustainable and reliable methods for preventing and treating liver cancer require fundamental research on its molecular mechanisms. Cell lines are treated as in vitro equivalents of tumor tissues, making them a must-have for basic research on the nature of cancer. According to recent discoveries, certified cell lines retain most genetic properties of the original tumor and mimic its microenvironment. On the other hand, modern technologies allowing the deepest level of detail in omics landscapes have shown significant differences even between samples of the same cell line due to cross- and mycoplasma infection. This and other observations suggest that, in some cases, cell cultures are not suitable as cancer models, with limited predictive value for the effectiveness of new treatments. HepG2 is a popular hepatic cell line. It is used in a wide range of studies, from the oncogenesis to the cytotoxicity of substances on the liver. In this regard, we set out to collect up-to-date information on the HepG2 cell line to assess whether the level of heterogeneity of the cell line allows in vitro biomedical studies as a model with guaranteed production and quality.

A Comparison of the Genotoxic Effects of Gold Nanoparticles Functionalized with Seven Different Ligands in Cultured Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells

“…The negative control was cells in media only with no GNP-ligand exposure. The DNA damage seen could be attributed to cell handling or natural occurrence in the cell line [ 36 ].…”

Development of Dicationic Bisguanidine-Arylfuran Derivatives as Potent Agents against Gram-Negative Bacteria

“…The cytotoxicity levels of all compounds were evaluated against human Michigan Cancer Foundation-7 (MCF-7) and Hepatoma G2 cell line (HepG2) cell lines. MCF-7 is an extensively characterized breast cancer cell line isolated in 1970 [ 41 ], while HepG2 cells were derived from a hepatoma in 1975 [ 42 ]. Both cell lines grow robustly during in vitro culture and have been widely used for cytotoxicity testing.…”

Evaluation and Screening of Hypoglycemic Activity of Total Ginsenosides GBE-5 Fraction From Panax Ginseng Berry Based on UHPLC–MS Metabolomics

“…In the study of diabetes, the T2DM rats induced by high-fat and high-sucrose (HFD) diet combined with streptozotocin (STZ) was usually used as experimental animal models in vivo , and the STZ destroyed rat islet β-cell to simulate the state of insufficient insulin secretion ( 20 , 21 ). It was stated that HepG2 was a popular hepatic cell line, its surface contained high-affinity insulin receptor, which could meet the requirements of typical insulin receptor ( 22 ), and in vitro , the HepG2 human hepatoma cells were usually used to establish insulin resistance model to simulate insulin resistance in the patients with diabetics. There were three main modeling methods of HepG2 cell insulin resistance model, high-glucose induced cell insulin resistance model, high-concentration insulin induced cell insulin resistance model, and fatty acid (palmitic acid) induced cell insulin resistance model ( 23 ).…”