Primary peritoneal mast cells (PMC) reduce the fibrogenic response of hepatic stellate cells while inducing caspase 3 cleavage and activity

Background: Mast cells (MCs) are recruited to the liver during fibrosis and induce detachment- dependent apoptosis in mouse embryonic fibroblasts [1]. We have previously shown that co-culture of a murine MC line (L138.8A) with the murine hepatic stellate cell line HSC/Col-GFP [2] leads to a strong reduction of the fibrotic response in HSC by affecting several aspects of TGF-β signaling [3].