Altered morphology of HepG2 cells exposed to chrysene isomers

These are photographs of HepG2 cells treated with nothing, dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO, solvent vehicle), chrysene, or its six monomethylated isomers after 5 days of exposure. The chrysenes caused flattened and elongated shape changes that may be consistent with epithelial to mesenchymal transition of the cells (EMT). This morphological change has been reported previously for epithelial cells that were exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The chrysenes all have similar dose dependent effects on the HepG2 cells. Each photo is annotated in the title with the magnification (200x) the treatment [untreated, dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) vehicle, chrysene or methyl chrysene isomer (1-6)] and the last number reflects the number of photo taken (1-4 photos from different microscopic fields).