Selection of medium for serum-free primary culture of adult rat hepatocytes

To select a suitable medium for serum-free primary culture of adult rat hepatocytes, ten commercially-available synthetic media were compared for their ability to maintain the cells under serum-free and serum-supplemented conditions with special reference to attachment, survival and albumin secretion. It was found that Williams' medium E and DM-160 medium were the best among the ten media for maintaining hepatocytes under serum-free conditions in primary culture.     

Isolation and primary culture of adult pig hepatocytes

Hepatocytes were directly isolated from pig livers obtained from the abattoir and cultivated on a type I collagen-coated polystyrene surface. Digestion of the partial liver lobe resulted in an average yield of 1.4 × 109 cells (9.9 × 106 cells/g liver) with an average viability of 92.5 percent. The yield and viability of cells were improved by dispase/collagenase digestion. The emergence of blebbing cells was blocked by supplying oxygen to the cell isolation buffers. Hepatocytes isolated seeded onto the polystyrene surfaces remained viable and functional at a comparable level to that of rat hepatocytes, though their functions decreased over time. These data indicate that adult pig hepatocytes can be harvested with high yields and can retain viability and differentiated functions through this method.     

Preparation of primary monolayer cultures of adult rat hepatocytes

Summary We describe in detail the technique of hepatocyte isolation and establishment of primary cell cultures of adult rat hepatocytes. These cultures contain hormonally responsive hepatocytes that retain many adult characteristics under completely serum-free conditions. The cells retain a normal morphology and do not exhibit fetal characteristics during a 4 d culture period.     

Maturation of suckling rat response to SRBC

The immune response of the Buffalo/Sim rat to heterologous sheep red blood cells (SRBC) was studied here. The earliest time of response to 10⁹ SRBC, the most suitable inoculation route and the behavior to challenge were determined. The intraperitoneal (ip) proved more effective than the subcutaneous (sc) route, since serum agglutinins became detectable in low titers in animals inoculated at 6–7 days of life by the former route and at 12 days by the latter. No splenic plaque-forming cells (PFC) were found in rats immunized ip at 2 days of age, and strong inhibition developed on challenge at day 14 post-inoculation (pi) (agglutinin titers at day 7 pi: 0.71 ± 0.47 vs 4.6 ± 0.51 in unprimed controls; PFC/10⁷ cells at day 5: 122.21 ± 36.17 vs 3,977.38 ± 777.5 in unprimed controls). Serum agglutinin formation was also decreased, though to a lesser degree, when: a) animals were challenged at 30 or 60 days of age; b) both priming and challenge took place by sc route; or c) antigen dose was lowered to 10⁷ or 10⁵ SRBC. Mechanisms interpreting observed behavior are discussed.     

The model of D-galactosamine-induced injury of rat hepatocytes in primary culture

D-galactosamine (GalN) is a highly selective hepatotoxin that causes liver damage similar to human viral hepatitis via depletion of uridine nucleotides, which subsequently diminishes synthesis of RNA and proteins. Model of galactosamine hepatotoxicity is frequently used in animal experiments in vitro. The purpose of our study was to establish the model of GalN-induced hepatocyte injury in in vitro conditions using primocultures of rat hepatocytes as an important pre-requisite for further experiments in which we would like to study potential hepatoprotective effect of various substances. Rate of hepatocyte injury was evaluated by morphological changes, changes in cell viability, albumin production, mitochondrial membrane potential, activity of mitochondrial dehydrogenases and glutathione content. Marked dose dependent hepatocyte injury was found after 24-hour incubation with GalN. Based on the results we suggest as an optimal model for short-term toxicity test exposure to GalN for 24 hours in dose of 40 mM.     

Effects of antioxidants on survival of adult rat hepatocytes under various oxygen tensions in serum-free primary culture.

Effects of antioxidants, such as superoxide dismutase, vitamin C, vitamin E, 4-(0-benzylphenoxy)-N-methylbutylamine hydrochloride (bifemelane), and selenite on survival of adult rat hepatocytes were examined under normoxic and hyperoxic conditions in serum-free primary culture. The tested antioxidants, except for vitamin C, significantly increased the survival rate of hepatocytes under the normoxic condition (under air). Thus, even the normoxic culture condition is hyperoxic for hepatocytes. Elevation of oxygen tension (40% O2) caused severe morphologic degeneration of hepatocytes and remarkable decrease in the survival rate of the cells. Addition of the antioxidants effectively protected hepatocytes from the morphologic degeneration, and significantly improved the survival of the cells under the hyperoxic condition. These findings indicate that the antioxidants can maintain the long-term survival of hepatocytes in serum-free primary culture.     

Transformation of adult rat cardiac myocytes in primary culture

We characterized the morphological, electrical and mechanical alterations of cardiomyocytes in long-term cell culture. Morphometric parameters, sarcomere length, T-tubule density, cell capacitance, L-type calcium current (I(Ca,L)), inward rectifier potassium current (I(K1)), cytosolic calcium transients, action potential and contractile parameters of adult rat ventricular myocytes were determined on each day of 5 days in culture. We also analysed the health of the myocytes using an apoptotic/necrotic viability assay. The data show that myocytes undergo profound morphological and functional changes during culture. We observed a progressive reduction in the cell area (from 2502 +/- 70 microm(2) on day 0 to 1432 +/- 50 microm(2) on day 5), T-tubule density, systolic shortening (from 0.11 +/- 0.02 to 0.05 +/- 0.01 microm) and amplitude of calcium transients (from 1.54 +/- 0.19 to 0.67 +/- 0.19) over 5 days of culture. The negative force-frequency relationship, characteristic of rat myocardium, was maintained during the first 2 days but diminished thereafter. Cell capacitance (from 156 +/- 8 to 105 +/- 11 pF) and membrane currents were also reduced (I(Ca,L), from 3.98 +/- 0.39 to 2.12 +/- 0.37 pA pF; and I(K1), from 34.34p +/- 2.31 to 18.00 +/- 5.97 pA pF(-1)). We observed progressive depolarization of the resting membrane potential during culture (from 77.3 +/- 2.5 to 34.2 +/- 5.9 mV) and, consequently, action potential morphology was profoundly altered as well. The results of the viability assays indicate that these alterations could not be attributed to either apoptosis or necrosis but are rather an adaptation to the culture conditions over time.     

Decreased albumin secretion in serum-free primary cultures of adult rat hepatocytes during proliferation induced by epidermal growth factor and insulin

Upon addition of epidermal growth factor (EGF, 0.1 microgram/ml) and insulin (0.1 microM), adult rat hepatocytes proliferated and increased 120-134% in number in serum-free primary culture. However, in the absence of the growth factors, hepatocytes decreased in number with time. The average albumin secretion per cell was much lower in the proliferating cultures than in the non-proliferating cultures. The results suggest that albumin production in hepatocytes decreases during cell proliferation.     

Hormonal regulation of ornithine decarboxylase and polyamines in primary cultured rat hepatocytes--differences in hormonal response between adult and fetal hepatocytes

Polyamines are polycationic substances which are widely distributed in living organisms and have a close relation to rapid growth phenomena. We examined ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), which is the rate limiting enzyme of polyamine biosynthesis, and polyamine induction in primary cultured rat hepatocytes by various hormones which increase during pregnancy, and revealed differences in hormonal responses between adult and fetal rat hepatocytes. Thirteen hormones, including estrone, estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), cortisol, dexamethasone, insulin, glucagon, epinephrine and epidermal growth factor (EGF), were tested. Among these hormones, only insulin, dexamethasone and EGF induced ODC activity and polyamine biosynthesis, especially that of putrescine, in both adult and fetal hepatocytes. The effects of EGF were the most significant. The combined effect of insulin and dexamethasone was additive, while that of insulin and EGF was synergistic. The rate of ODC induction was higher in adult hepatocytes than in fetal hepatocytes, however, the reaction was earlier in fetal hepatocytes. These observations suggest that ODC and polyamines in the fetal stage of development are regulated by a mechanism different from that in the adult liver.     

Elevated hepatocyte-specific functions in fetal rat hepatocytes co-cultured with adult rat hepatocytes

Fetal hepatocytes (FHEPs) are a potential source of highly proliferative transplantable cells but express low levels of liver-specific functions. We hypothesized that the microenvironment of adult hepatocytes (AHEPs) may upregulate these functions. Primary FHEPs were seeded on top of collagen-sandwiched AHEPs directly or separated by a porous transwell membrane insert. In direct co-cultures, albumin (ALB) secretion, urea synthesis, and cytochrome P450 (CytP450) activity were all approximately 2 times as high as the sum of the corresponding monocultures. Using a transwell porous insert led to similar results, suggesting a major role for soluble factors. When AHEPs and FHEPs were separated after co-culture, they both initially showed significantly higher ALB secretion than control monocultures, whereas urea synthesis was significantly lower for the FHEPs only. Functions of previously co-cultured FHEPs normalized over the course of a week, but AHEP function remained high even after separation. In conclusion, co-culturing AHEPs with FHEPs increases expression of liver-specific functions in both cell types. The effect on FHEPs, but not AHEPs, was reversible. Unraveling the underlying mechanisms and optimizing this phenomenon will be useful in making fetal liver cells a potential cell source for hepatic tissue-engineering applications.     

Successful maintenance of suckling rat ileum in organ culture

Ileum from rats 4, 9, 11, 12, and 15 days old can best be maintained for 24 hours in a system using Hanks' Balanced Salt Solution without fetal calf serum, at 25°C and 21% O₂. Suckling rat duodenum and jejunum were difficult to maintain well for 24 hours in this system or a variety of other systems that were tried. A temperature of 37°C hastened deterioration of duodenum, jejunum or ileum. With ileum, ³H-thymidine and ¹⁴C-leucine were increasingly incorporated into DNA and protein over the 24-hour period. Light microscopy, as well as scanning and transmission electron microscopy, showed very good preservation of the ileum after 24 hours. The addition to the medium of hydrocortisone, 1 μm, and thyroxine, 0.01 μm, alone or in combination, did not change DNA or protein synthesis, or morphology, possibly because of the relatively short (24 hour) time period. Our organ culture system emphasizes the differences between suckling rat ileum and the rest of the intestine, and provides a new tool for evaluating, over a 24-hour period, the developing rat small intestine.     

Effects of insulin and glucagon on energy and carbohydrate metabolism of rat hepatocytes in primary culture

We studied the effects of insulin and glucagon on energy and carbohydrate metabolism of rat hepatocytes in primary culture. The aim of this study is to elucidate the mechanism of the synergistic action of insulin and glucagon and to evaluate the combined effects of these hormones on liver injury. Insulin increased the level of adenosine triphosphate in hepatocytes in the presence of glucagon. Insulin increased the activities of glucokinase (EC 2.7.1.1), phosphofructokinase (EC 2.7.1.11), pyruvate kinase (EC 2.7.1.40) type L and glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.49). Glucagon had no antagonistic effect on these increases. Glucagon increased the activity of glucose 6-phosphate (EC 3.1.3.9) (G6Pase) in the presence or absence of insulin, while insulin had no effects on the levels of G6Pase and fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase (EC 3.1.3.11) in the presence or absence of glucagon. Metabolite analysis of cultured hepatocytes indicated that insulin and glucagon have antagonistic effects on the glycolytic activity of hepatocytes. These combined effects of insulin and glucagon may partially explain the preventive effects of these hormones on liver injury.     

Influence of cell culture configuration on the post-cryopreservation viability of primary rat hepatocytes

Cryopreservation has been identified as a necessary barrier to overcome in the production of tissue engineered products for clinical application. Liver engineering and bioartificial liver assisting devices are on the forefront of tissue engineering research due to its high demand and clinical potential. In this study we propose that the cryopreservation of primary mammalian hepatocytes yields better results when these cells are in a tissue-like culture configuration since cell attachment is essential for cell survival in this cell type. We used two different tissue-engineered culture configurations: monolayers and spheroid culture; and two different concepts of cryopreservation, namely vitrification and freezing. Cell suspensions were also cryopreserved using both approaches and results were compared to the engineered cultures. Both engineered configurations and suspension were cryopreserved using both conventional freezing (cooling at 1 °C/minute using 10% DMSO in foetal calf serum) and vitrification (using 40% ethylene glycol 0.6 m sucrose supplemented with 9% Ficoll). These two approaches differ on the degree of mechanical stress they inflict on the material to be cryopreserved. The maintenance of cell-to-cell and the integrity of the actin cytoskeleton were assessed using scanning electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry respectively. Results showed that while there was no significant difference between the degree of integrity shown between vitrified and control engineered cultures, the same did not happen to the frozen engineered constructs. The disruption of the cytoskeletal structure correlated with increased levels of apoptotic markers. With cryopreserved suspensions there was evidence of disruption of the cytoskeletal structure. This study concluded that cell-to-cell contact is beneficial in the maintenance of viability post-cryopreservation and that the vitrification approach was far superior to those of conventional freezing when applied to 2D and 3D hepatocyte based engineered cultures.     

成人肝细胞的分离及培养的初步研究

目的 探索成人肝细胞的分离方法 以及培养条件.方法 在获取外科手术切除或不适宜肝移植的成人肝脏后,采用改良胶原酶P两步法分离成人肝细胞,锥虫蓝计算存活率后,接种普通培养,或将肝细胞接种于中空纤维反应器中培养,观察培养细胞的形态、尿素合成及天冬氨酸转氨酶、利多卡因代谢等.结果 利用改良两步胶原酶分离法成功分离出大量成人肝细胞,而且较好的维持其生物学活性,并被成功的培养在中空纤维反应器中.检测结果 显示较好地保持了尿素合成以及利多卡因代谢能力,结论 胶原酶P两步法可分离出成人肝细胞,采用普通培养和中空纤维反应器培养可较好的保持细胞的功能,可为生物反应器的制备提供初步的依据.     

Taurocholate depolarizes rat hepatocytes in primary culture by increasing cell membrane Na+ conductance

Rat hepatocytes in primary culture were impaled with conventional microelectrodes. Addition of 5–100 mol/l taurocholate led to a slowly developing depolarization that was maximal at 50 mol/l (10.5±1.5 mV, n=15) and not reversible. The effect was Na⁺ dependent and decreased in cells preincubated with 1 mol/l taurocholate. Increasing external K⁺ tenfold depolarized the cells by 12.3±2.3 mV under control conditions and by 6.3±1.2 mV with 50 mol/l taurocholate present (n=7). Depolarization by 1 mmol/l Ba²⁺ was 7.6±0.8 mV and 6.0±0.7 mV (n=9) before and after addition of taurocholate, respectively. Cable analysis and Na⁺ substitution experiments reveal that this apparent decrease in K⁺ conductance reflects an actual increase in Na⁺ conductance: in the presence of taurocholate, specific cell membrane resistance decreased from 2.8 to 2.3 k · cm² · Na⁺ substitution by 95% depolarized cell membranes by 8.9±2.9 mV (n=9), probably due to indirect effects on K⁺ conductance via changes in cell pH. With taurocholate present, the same manoeuvre changed membrane voltages by –0.8±2.6 mV. When Na⁺ concentration was restored to 100% from solutions containing 5% Na⁺, cells hyperpolarized by 3.5±3.6 mV (n=7) under control conditions and depolarized by 4.4±2.9 mV in the presence of taurocholate, respectively. In Cl^– substitution experiments, there was no evidence for changes in Cl^– conductance by taurocholate. These results show that taurocholate-induced membrane depolarization is due to an increase in Na⁺ conductance probably via uptake of the bile acid.     

Morphologic and functional studies of mouse hepatocytes in primary culture

Mouse liver cells in primary culture were evaluated by high-resolution light microscopy (HRLM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Cells after 2 hours of culture in L-15 medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum were spherical in shape, and were either individual or in small clusters of up to ten cells. Following 1 day in culture, hepatocytes were flattened and usually found in groups. Bile canaliculus-like structures were apparent between hepatocytes. Tight junctions and desmosomes were also present along adjacent plasma membranes. Autophagic vacuoles were seen within the cytoplasm. After 2 days in culture, hepatocytes appeared more elongated and flattened than in earlier sampling periods. Both autophagic and clear vacuoles were seen in the cytoplasm. Mitochondria were present in a variety of shapes and sizes. Small bundles of microfilaments were frequently seen in the basal region of cross-sectioned cells. From the fourth until the eighth day in culture, hepatocytes displayed further progression of the morphologic changes seen after 2 days. Nuclear elongation and the projection of cytoplasmic pseudoinclusions into the nucleus were also evident after 4 days. Cytoplasmic and nuclear changes were eventually observed in all hepatocytes by the eighth day of culture. DNA synthesis in the cells during culture was investigated by autoradiography. The percentage of S-phase labeled cells was 0.1% after 1 day of culture. The labeling index increased to 1.02%, 3.14%, and 5.88% after 2, 4, and 6 days of culture, respectively. Synthesis of albumin by the liver cells was also detectable during the first 8 days of primary culture. A gradual drop in albumin synthesis was noted with increased time in culture. The percentage of hepatocytes that histochemically stained for gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) progressively increased from 0.01% of the cells after 2 hours culture to 3.14% of the cells after 8 days of culture.     

Comparative study of the primary cilia in thyrocytes of adult mammals

Since their discovery in different human tissues by Zimmermann in 1898, primary cilia have been found in the vast majority of cell types in vertebrates. Primary cilia are considered to be cellular antennae that occupy an ideal cellular location for the interpretation of information both from the environment and from other cells. To date, in mammalian thyroid gland, primary cilia have been found in the thyrocytes of humans and dogs (fetuses and adults) and in rat embryos. The present study investigated whether the existence of this organelle in follicular cells is a general event in the postnatal thyroid gland of different mammals, using both immunolabeling by immunofluorescence and electron microscopy. Furthermore, we aimed to analyse the presence of primary cilia in various thyroid cell lines. According to our results, primary cilia are present in the adult thyroid gland of most mammal species we studied (human, pig, guinea pig and rabbit), usually as a single copy per follicular cell. Strikingly, they were not found in rat or mouse thyroid tissues. Similarly, cilia were also observed in all human thyroid cell lines tested, both normal and neoplastic follicular cells, but not in cultured thyrocytes of rat origin. We hypothesize that primary cilia could be involved in the regulation of normal thyroid function through specific signaling pathways. Nevertheless, further studies are needed to shed light on the permanence of these organelles in the thyroid gland of most species during postnatal life.