Abstract
Long-term and stable hepatocyte culture systems have a wide variety of uses, both in basic science and in the development of hepatocyte-based applications. In most cases, long-term cultures of hepatocytes are superior to traditional cultures in collagen-coated dishes, which only transiently express a low level of liver-specific function during the first wk in culture (1,2). The collagen sandwich provides a system capable of maintaining long term and stable function of hepatocytes with which to study liver physiology (3,4). This system is now used along with several other long-term hepatocyte culture techniques that have been developed since the mid 1970s. These other methods include the use of special extracellular matrix (ECM) materials, such as an extract from the Engelbreth-Holm-Swarm sarcoma grown in mice [5] (under the commercial appellations of Matrigel and Biomatrix, Biomedical Technologies, Stoughton, MA), co-culture with mesenchymal, endothelial, or epithelial cells (6–8), special culture media (e.g., dimethyl sulfoxide supplementation or arginine-free formulas), and culture at high seeding densities. In the context of studying liver physiology and morphogenesis of the liver plate, the sandwich culture system appears to be particularly well-suited, since it exhibits in vivo-like ECM geometry, has relatively flexible medium requirements, and individual cell morphology and structure can be easily visualized. One disadvantage, however, is that, in current practice, the ECM layer on top of the cells may present a transport barrier that can slow down the exchange of nutrients, products, and chemical signals with the bulk of the medium.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Clayton, D. F. and Darnell, J. E., Jr. (1983) Changes in liver-specific compared to common gene transcription during primary culture of mouse hepatocytes. Mol. Cell Biol. 5, 2623–2632.
Clayton, D. F., Harrelson, A. L., and Darnell, J. E., Jr. (1985) Dependence of liver-specific transcription on tissue organization. Mol. Cell Biol. 5, 2623–2632.
Dunn, J. C. Y., Yarmush, M. L., Koebe, H. G., and Tompkins, R. G. (1989) Hepatocyte function and extracellular matrix geometry: long-term culture in a sandwich configuration. FASEB J. 3, 174–177.
Berthiaume, F., Moghe, P. V., Toner, M., and Yarmush, M. L. (1996) Effect of extracellular matrix topology on cell structure, function, and physiological responsiveness: hepatocytes cultured in a sandwich configuration. FASEB J. 10, 1471–1484.
Bissell, D. M., Arenson, D. M., Maher, J. J., and Roll, F. J. (1987) Support of cultured hepatocytes by a larninin-rich gel. Evidence of a functionally significant subendothelial matrix in normal rat liver. J. Clin. Invest. 79, 801–812.
Kuri-Harcuch, W. and Mendoza-Figueroa, T. (1989) Cultivation of adult rat hepatocytes on 3T3 cells: expression of various liver differentiated functions. Differentiation 41, 148–157.
Guillouzo, A., Delers, F., Clément, B., Bernard, N., and Engler, R. (1984) Long term production of acute-phase proteins by adult rat hepatocytes co-cultured with another cell type in serum-free medium. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 120, 311–317.
Conner, J., Vallet-Collom, I., Daveau, M., Delers, F., Hiron, M., Lebreton, J.-P., and Guillouzo, A. (1990) Acute-phase-response induction in rat hepatocytes co-cultured with rat liver epithelial cells. Biochem. J. 266, 683–688.
Bader, A., Rinkes, I. H. B., Closs, E. I., Ryan, C. M., Toner, M., Cunningham, J. M., Tompkins, R. G., and Yarmush, M. L. (1992) A stable long-term hepatocyte culture system for studies of physiologic processes: cytokine stimulation of the acute phase response in rat and human hepatocytes. Biotechnol. Prog. 8, 219–225.
LeCluyse, E. L., Audus, K. L., and Hochman, J. H. (1994) Formation of extensive canalicular networks by rat hepatocytes cultured in collagen-sandwich configuration. Am. J. Physiol. 266, C1764–C1774.
Rotem, A., Matthew, H. W. T., Hsiao, R H., Toner, M., Tompkins, R. G., and Yarmush, M. L. (1995) The activity of cytochrome P450 IA1 in stable cultured rat hepatocytes. Toxicol. In Vitro 9, 139–149.
Borel-Rinkes, I. H. M., Toner, M., Sheehan, S. J., Tompkins, R. J., and Yarmush, M. L. (1992) Long-term functional recovery of hepatocytes after cryopreservation in a three-dimensional culture configuration. Cell Transplantation 1, 281–292.
Stefanovich, P., Toner, M., Ezzell, R. M., Sheehan, S. J., Tompkins, R. G., and Yarmush, M. L. (1995) Effects of hypothermia on the function, membrane integrity, and cytoskeletal structure of hepatocytes. Cryobiology 23, 389–403.
Bader, A., Knop, E., Boker, K., Fruhauf, N., Schiittler, W, Oldhafer, K., et al. (1995) A novel bioreactor design for in vitro reconstruction of in vivo liver characteristics. Artif. Organs 19, 368–374.
Taguchi, K., Matsushita, M., Takahashi, M., and Uchino, J. (1996) Development of a bioartificial liver with sandwiched-cultured hepatocytes between two collagen gels. Artif. Organs 20, 178–185.
Koike, M., Matsushita, M., Taguchi, K., and Uchino, J. (1996) Function of culturing monolayer hepatocytes by collagen gel coating and coculture with nonparenchymal cells. Artif Organs 20, 186–192.
Elsdale, T. and Bard, J. (1972) Collagen substrata for for studies on cell behavior. J. Cell. Biol. 54, 626–637.
Seglen, P. 0. (1976) Preparation of isolated rat liver cells. Methods Biol. 13, 29–83.
Bhatia S. (1997) Controlling cell-cell interactions in hepatic tissue engineering using microfabrication. PhD Thesis, Harvard-MIT.
Dunn, J. C. Y., Tompkins, R. G., and Yarmush, M. L. (1991) Long-term in vitro function of adult hepatocytes in a collagen sandwich configuration. Biotechnol. Prog. 7, 237–245.
Ezzell, R. M., Toner, M., Hendricks, K., Dunn, J. C. Y., Tompkins, R. G., and Yarmush, M. L. (1993) Effect of collagen gel configuration on the cytoskeleton in cultured rat hepatocytes. Exp. Cell Res. 208, 442–452.
Moghe, P. V., Berthiaume, F., Ezzell, R. M., Toner, M., Tompkins, R. G., and Yarmush, M. L. (1996) Role of extracellular matrix composition and configuration in maintenance of hepatocyte polarity and function. Biomaterials 17, 373–385.
Yarmush, M. L., Toner, M., Dunn, J. C. Y., Rote, A., Hubel, and Tompkins, R. G. (1992) Hepatic tissue engineering. Development of critical technologies. Ann. NY Acad. Sci. 665, 238–252.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1999 Humana Press Inc., Totowa, NJ
About this protocol
Cite this protocol
Berthiaume, F., Tompkins, R.G., Yarmush, M.L. (1999). Isolation and Long-Term Maintenance of Adult Rat Hepatocytes in Culture. In: Morgan, J.R., Yarmush, M.L. (eds) Tissue Engineering Methods and Protocols. Methods in Molecular Medicine™, vol 18. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1385/0-89603-516-6:447
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1385/0-89603-516-6:447
Publisher Name: Humana Press
Print ISBN: 978-0-89603-516-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-59259-602-7
eBook Packages: Springer Protocols