Chapter 22 Methodology and Utility of Primary Cultures of Hepatocytes from Experimental Animals

Publisher Summary The chapter describes the methods employed for the culture of fetal, neonatal, and adult hepatocytes and cell lines derived from liver, and points out some of the experimental systems to which such cultures have been applied. A major advantage of primary adult liver cell cultures is the ability to maintain these cells in serum-free medium of known molecular composition, however there is a problem of the inability of the cells to continue through the cell cycle from G 2 into the mitotic phase. The chapter summarizes some of the biochemical approaches that are used to study primary cultures of mammalian hepatocytes. These include studies on intermediary metabolism and nucleic acid synthesis, protein secretion by cultures of hepatocytes, and drug and carcinogen metabolism by primary cultures of hepatocytes. One of the most critical areas in which hepatocytes are useful is the study of xenobiotic metabolism. The use of hepatic cell cultures in monitoring environmental carcinogens is potentially great, as most known chemical carcinogens are metabolized to active forms in the liver.