The morphological features of parenchymal and non-parenchymal liver cells isolated and cultured from single rat liver

Hepatocytes, fat-storing cells (FSC), sinusoidal endothelial cells and Kupffer cells were isolated from a single rat liver by collagenase perfusion from the portal vein and centrifugal elutriation. These cells of four groups were cultulred in vitro for 24-48 hours to investigate their morphological features mainly with electron microscopy. Hepatocytes cultured for 24 hours attached each other to form trabecular cell islands with the formation of the canaliculi and junctional complexes between hepatocytes. Cultured FSC possessing many fat droplets in their cytoplasm presented an intercellular adhesion during culture for 48 hours. Cultured endothelial cells showed many pores and sieve plates as in situ. In cultured Kupffer cells many cytoplasmic projections and well-developed lysosomes or phagocytic vesicles were noted. The present study indicates that hepatocytes and three cell groups of non-parenchymal cells isolated and cultured, respectively, show the characteristic morphological features and, thus making these isolated and cultured cells useful for various fields of liver study.