THE EFFECTS OF SEX HORMONES ON KUPFFER CELL-MEDIATED HEPATOCYTOTOXICITY

Kupffer cells isolated from rat liver were treated with sex hormones and their culture fluids were added to the isolated rat liver cells. When Kupffer cells were treated with estrogens, their culture supernatants caused the decrease in protein synthesis of the isolated liver cells, suggesting that a hepatocytotoxic substance (or substances) was produced from the estrogen-treated Kupffer cells. On the other hand, this hepatocytotoxicity resulted from the estrogen-treated Kupffer cell culture fluid was not demonstrated when Kupffer cells were treated with estrogen in the presence of testosterone. These results suggest that estrogen may activate Kupffer cells and produce same kind of hepatocytotoxic factor, and testosterone may compete with estrogen for Kupffer cell activation.