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Cell‐cell interactions are essential for maintenance of hepatocyte function in collagen gel but not on matrigel
Author(s) -
Moghe Prabhas V.,
Coger Robin N.,
Toner Mehmet,
Yarmush Martin L.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
biotechnology and bioengineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.136
H-Index - 189
eISSN - 1097-0290
pISSN - 0006-3592
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0290(19971220)56:6<706::aid-bit14>3.0.co;2-5
Subject(s) - matrigel , microbiology and biotechnology , hepatocyte , secretion , cell culture , cell , extracellular matrix , matrix (chemical analysis) , function (biology) , chemistry , biophysics , in vitro , biology , biochemistry , chromatography , genetics
The objective of this study was to examine the importance of cellular aggregation for the maintenance of liver‐specific functions in hepatocytes. We used two culture matrix systems (collagen sandwich and Matrigel) to examine the responsiveness of albumin secretory function in cultured rat hepatocytes under various seeding conditions. With high cell seeding, both culture systems elicited comparable levels of elevated function. Under conditions of sparse seeding, however, their responses were quite distinct: collagen sandwiched cells exhibited a significant deterioration in secretion, while Matrigel‐cultured cells retained their basal levels of function. This indicates that a critical degree of cell‐cell interactions is essential for promoting function in the collagen sandwich, and in the Matrigel‐cultured cells functions may be preserved by constitutive matrix‐related phenomena, even in the absence of aggregation. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 56: 706–711, 1997.