Abstract: Objective To study the effect of methyltransferase?like 14 (METTL14) on the proliferation and activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs).Methods The expression of METTL14 in transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1) treated HSCs was detected by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). In HSCs with overexpression of METTL14, the abilities of proliferation and migration were analyzed by MTT assay and transwell migration assay, and the expression of collagen type I (COL I) and alphas-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) was analyzed by RT-qPCR and Western blot. Results The expression of METTL14 in HSCs was up-regulated to about 2.8-fold after co-cultivation with TGF-β1. The absorbance of HSCs after 48 hours in culture of co-culture group (0.730±0.047) was significantly higher than that of control group (0.533±0.022, P<0.05). And the number of migrating cells (186±42.75) was also significantly larger than that of control group (97±7.00, P<0.05). RT-qPCR showed that the relative expression levels of COLI and α-SMA in cells with overexpression of METTL14 (2.48±0.31, 3.36±0.43) were significantly higher than those in control group (1.00±0.26, 1.00±0.24, both P<0.05). Western blot showed that the protein expression levels of COLI and α-SMA in co-culture group were also significantly higher than those in control group.Conclusion METTL14 promotes hepatic fibrosis by enhancing the proliferation and activation of hepatic stellate cells.

Key words: Hepatic stellate cell activation, Hepatic fibrosis, METTL14, m6A modification