Human hepatic cancer cells refer to cells that originate from liver cancer in humans. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of primary liver cancer (i.e., cancer that starts in the liver).

There are several human hepatic cancer cell lines commonly used in research, each with unique characteristics that can make them more or less suitable for different types of studies. Here are a few examples:

1. HepG2: This is an immortalized cell line derived from a liver biopsy of a 15-year-old Caucasian male with a well-differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma. HepG2 cells are often used in drug metabolism studies because they maintain many of the enzymatic functions characteristic of normal hepatocytes.
2. Huh7: This is a well-differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma cell line that was originally taken from a liver tumor in a 57-year-old Japanese male. Huh7 cells are particularly useful for studying hepatitis C virus replication.
3. Hep3B: This cell line was derived from the serum of a patient with hepatocellular carcinoma. Hep3B cells lack functional p53, a tumor suppressor protein, making them useful for studying the role of p53 in cancer.
4. HepaRG: This is a unique hepatic cell line that is capable of differentiating into both hepatocyte-like and biliary-like cells, allowing for more complex studies of liver function and disease.

It’s important to note that while these cell lines provide useful model systems, they do have limitations. They may not fully recapitulate the characteristics of primary liver cancer cells, and they can accumulate additional genetic changes over time in culture. Nonetheless, human hepatic cancer cell lines have been instrumental in advancing our understanding of liver cancer biology and in developing new therapeutic strategies.