Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To explore the changes of cell morphology and special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 1 (SATB1) expression after adding different concentrations of cisplatin to SMMC-7721 cells. METHODS： SMMC-7721 cells were treated with 0，2. 5，5 and 10 μg/ml cisplatin for 24 h. The changes of cell morphology were studied through inverted microscope. Semiquantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to examine the expression of SATB1 mRNA. Western blot was used to assess the expression of SATB1 protein. RESULTS：When SMMC-7721 cells were cultured with different concentrations of cisplatin for 24 h，significant changes of cell morphology were observed. The cell number decreased. The damaged and dead cells increased. The expressions of SATB1 mRNA and protein were reduced with increasing concentrations of cisplatin. There were statistical significances between 5 and 10 μg /ml cisplatin groups and control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION：Cisplatin could inhibit the proliferation of SMMC-7721 cell and the expression of SATB1 to suppress the growth of liver cancer cells.

Key words: SATB1, SMMC-7721, cisplatin