Abstract: This study was aimed to synthesize an active peptide from Carapax Trionycis and to investigate its effect on the proliferation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). An active peptide from Carapax Trionycis, which was shown to have significant anti-hepatic fibrosis activity, was synthesized by solid phase method and characterized by MALDI-TOF MS analysis. The HSCs in log growth phase was treated with the synthetic peptide at different concentrations. Viability and apoptosis of hepatic stellate cells were determined by MTS assay and Annexin V-FITC/PI staining, respectively. The active peptide showed strong inhibition of proliferation and induction of apoptosis of HSC-T₆ in a concentration-dependent manner. The results suggest that the active peptide from Carapax Trionycis could be synthesized efficiently and has significant inhibitory effect on the proliferation of HSC-T₆.

Key words: Hepatic stellate cells, Synthetic peptide, Carapax Trionycis, MTS, Apoptosis