Premium
Formation of bile canaliculi in long‐term primary cultures of adult rat hepatocytes on permeable membrane: an ultrastructural study
Author(s) -
GUÉRY C.,
SECCHI J.,
VANNIER B.,
FOURNEX R.,
LORENZON G.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
cytopathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.512
H-Index - 48
eISSN - 1365-2303
pISSN - 0956-5507
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2303.1995.tb00477.x
Subject(s) - bone canaliculus , hepatocyte , ultrastructure , intracellular , microbiology and biotechnology , glycogen , biology , endocrinology , in vitro , pathology , medicine , biochemistry , anatomy
Adult rat hepatocytes were cultured for 15 days on type I collagen‐coated permeable membranes in a hormonally defined Waxman's modified medium supplemented with very low concentrations of insulin, glucagon and dexamethasone. Phase contrast examination showed that 15‐day‐old cultures still formed a regular monolayer of polygonal cells. In similarly aged cultures, intracellular glycogen was abundant and evenly distributed, while steatosis remained very limited. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy showed that well developed bile canaliculi could be observed on the lateral side of the hepatocyte membrane after 4 days of incubation and persisted for 2 weeks. These canalicular structures probably originated from coalescence of membrane invaginations observed in 1‐day‐old cultures. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the ultrastructure of the cells was very close to that of normal rat hepatocytes in the intact liver. These results suggest that rat hepatocytes cultured under these experimental conditions are able to develop and maintain tissue‐specific cytochemical and morphological properties for at least 15 days.