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Quiescent stellate cells represent 5-8% of the total number of liver cells. [4] Each cell has several long cytoplasmic protrusions that extend from the cell body and wrap around the sinusoids. [5] The lipid droplets in the cell body store vitamin A as retinyl palmitate. [6] Hepatic stellate cells store 50–80% of the body's vitamin A. [6]
The main liver cells are called hepatocytes; however, there are other cells that can be observed in a liver sample such as Kupffer cells (macrophages). [2] The liver is the biggest gland of the body. It has a wide variety of functions that range from the destruction of old blood cells to the control of the whole metabolism of macromolecules . [ 3 ]
For these purposes, hepatocytes are usually isolated from animal or human [8] whole liver or liver tissue by collagenase digestion, which is a two-step process. In the first step, the liver is placed in an isotonic solution, in which calcium is removed to disrupt cell-cell tight junctions by the use of a calcium chelating agent.
Kupffer cells, also known as stellate macrophages and Kupffer–Browicz cells, are specialized cells localized in the liver within the lumen of the liver sinusoids and are adhesive to their endothelial cells which make up the blood vessel walls. Kupffer cells comprise the largest population of tissue-resident macrophages in the body.
The Kupffer cells of liver are phagocytic cells, helps in phagocytosis of dead blood cells and bacteria from the blood. [57] The liver is responsible for immunological effects – the mononuclear phagocyte system of the liver contains many immunologically active cells, acting as a 'sieve' for antigens carried to it via the portal system.
In histology (microscopic anatomy), the lobules of liver, or hepatic lobules, are small divisions of the liver defined at the microscopic scale. The hepatic lobule is a building block of the liver tissue , consisting of a portal triad, hepatocytes arranged in linear cords between a capillary network, and a central vein .
The name is derived from the fact that the cells undergoing this form of cell death increase in size . It is generally considered a form of apoptosis , [ 1 ] and is a descriptor used in the context of inflamed fatty liver ( steatohepatitis ) [ 2 ] (which may be due to obesity or alcohol ), as well as viral hepatitis.
Although the LSECs make up only about 3% of the total liver cell volume, their surface in a normal adult human liver is about 210 m 2, or nearly the size of a tennis court. [1] The LSEC structure differs from other endothelia. The cells contain many open pores, or fenestrae, with diameters from 100 to 150 nm.