Gene expression profiling after a chronic exposure to benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) and/or ethanol in steatotic or non-steatotic HepaRG cells.

The aim of this study was to determine in the human HepaRG cell line whether lipid overload (steatosis) could favor the cytotoxicity of benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) alone or in association with ethanol. Differentiated HepaRG cells (Aninat et al., Drug Metab Dispos 2006) were treated during 16 days with or without a mixture of fatty acids (150 µM stearic acid and 150 µM oleic acid). After 2 days from the start of the experiments, steatotic and non-steatotic cells were also treated with 1 or 2.5 µM B[a]P, associated or not with 25 mM ethanol. Independent cultures were performed in triplicate. In total, 36 samples were analyzed in this study.