Adoptive transferred hepatic stellate cells attenuated drug-induced liver injury by modulating the rate of regulatory T cells/T helper 17 cells

• Adoptive transfer of HSCs attenuated drug-induced acute liver injury.
• Tregs were implicated in the protective effect of adoptive transfer of HSCs.
• Tregs were induced from naive T cells by the medium from HSCs culture system.
• Retinoic acid released from HSCs suppressed the differentiation of Th17 cells from nTregs.

Our study showed that hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) promote the healing of the liver after drug-induced acute injury. However, the relevant mechanisms by which this is accomplished remain unclear. The objective of this study was to investigate the role of the adoptive transfer of HSCs in acute liver injury and the underlying mechanisms for healing. It was found that adoptive transfer of HSCs resulted in an increase in Tregs and a decrease in Th17 cells. Liver insult was consistently attenuated by HSC treatment. HSC cultured medium induced Tregs from naive T cells and suppressed the differentiation of Th17 cells. This study demonstrated that the adoptive transfer of HSCs protected the liver from drug-induced acute injury. Promoting the differentiation of Tregs and suppressing the development of Th17 cells are possibly involved in the protective effect of adoptive transfer of HSCs.