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Hepatocytes constitute about 80% of the cell population of the liver, with the other 20% being occupied by Kupffer cells, hepatic stellate cells, endothelial cells and mesothelial cells, which are not exactly characteristic of the liver, but are present in the liver samples. [2] Histologically speaking, hepatocytes have specific characteristics.
The hepatocyte plates are one cell thick in mammals and two cells thick in the chicken. Sinusoids display a discontinuous, fenestrated endothelial cell lining. The endothelial cells have no basement membrane and are separated from the hepatocytes by the space of Disse , which drains lymph into the portal tract lymphatics .
The liver sinusoids are lined with two types of cell, sinusoidal endothelial cells, and phagocytic Kupffer cells. [28] Hepatic stellate cells are nonparenchymal cells found in the perisinusoidal space, between a sinusoid and a hepatocyte. [27] Additionally, intrahepatic lymphocytes are often present in the sinusoidal lumen. [27]
Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) or scatter factor (SF) is a paracrine cellular growth, motility and morphogenic factor. It is secreted by mesenchymal cells and targets and acts primarily upon epithelial cells and endothelial cells , but also acts on haemopoietic progenitor cells and T cells .
Phagocytosis is one main mechanisms of the innate immune defense. It is one of the first processes responding to infection, and is also one of the initiating branches of an adaptive immune response. Although most cells are capable of phagocytosis, some cell types perform it as part of their main function. These are called 'professional phagocytes.'
The LSECs contain 45% and 17% of the liver's total mass of pinocytic vesicles and lysosomes, and contain twice as many clathrin-coated pits per membrane unit, compared with two other major liver cells, Kupffer cells and hepatocytes, [5] reflecting the high capacity clathrin-mediated endocytic activity of LSECs.
They engulf other smaller microbes and digest them within the phagosome of around one bacterium per minute, which is much faster than professional phagocytes. [24] For the soil amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum , their main food source is the bacteria Legionella pneumophila , which causes Legionnaire's disease in humans. [ 25 ]
Hepatocyte growth factor receptor (HGF receptor) [5] [6] is a protein that in humans is encoded by the MET gene. The protein possesses tyrosine kinase activity. [ 7 ] The primary single chain precursor protein is post-translationally cleaved to produce the alpha and beta subunits, which are disulfide linked to form the mature receptor.