Abstract: Objective To investigate the expression of insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor（IGF-1R），nuclear factor-κB（NF-κB） and the mechanism of multi-drug resistance（MDR） in insulin resistance（IR）- hepatoma cells in vitro. Methods The human hepatoma cells（HepG2 and HepG2.2.15） were induced by high concentration of insulin to establish a insulin resistance model. The expression of insulin receptor （InsR），IGF-1R，NF kappa B，P glycoprotein（P-gp） were detected by Western bloting and the effect of adriamycin on cell apoptosis were detected by flow cytometry（annexin V-FITC）. Results IR model of hepatoma cells were established successfully by subjecting the HepG2 and HepG2.2.15 cells to 100 nmol/L and 1 000 n mol/L insulin respectively for 48 hours. The expression of IGF-1R，NF-kappa B and P-gp were up-regulated in IR hepatoma cells，while the InsR expression was down-regulated；After treatment of the two cells with 25 μg/ml doxorubicin for 24 hours，the apoptosis rate of IR-HpeG 2 cells （31.1% ±1.9%） was significantly lower than HepG2 cells [（49.7±2.2）%，P＜0.01]，and the apoptosis rate of IR-HepG2.2.15 cells（20.1±1.7）% was significantly lower than HepG2.2.15 cells[（33.8±1.8）%，P＜0.01]；The apoptotic rates of HepG2.2.15 or IR-HepG2.2.15 cells were significantly lower than HepG2 or IR-HepG2 cells（P＜0.01），respectively. Conclusion The expression of IGF-1R， NF-kappa B and P-gp are up-regulated in IR-hepatoma cells，which might induce the MDR to adriamycin.

Key words: HepG2 cells, Insulin resistance, Insulin-like growth factor I receptor, NF-kappa B, P-glycoprotein, Multi-drug resistance