title: Separation of immature and adult rat hepatocytes into distinct subpopulations by centrifugal elutriation.
abstract: Several subpopulations of hepatocytes with increasing cell diameters were isolated, the smaller cells were attributed to the periportal area, the larger ones to the perivenous region. Profiles of total cytochrome P-450, benzphetamine N-demethylation and ethoxyresorufin O-deethylation, cytochrome c-reductase, glucose-6-phosphatase and GPT activities were determined. With adult hepatocytes an increasing cytochrome P-450 concentration with increasing cell diameter could be observed, paralleled by increasing activities of monooxygenases. Glucose-6-phosphatase and GPT also revealed increasing activities with increasing cell diameter, but cytochrome c-reductase did not show a distinct zonation. Immature hepatocytes (age 11-15 days) were smaller, more fragile, and could not be isolated with the same enzyme solution as adult hepatocytes. They did not show any zonation of cytochrome P-450 whereas the zonation of the monooxygenases was almost fully developed. For cytochrome c-reductase a zonation with higher activities in the perivenous cells could be demonstrated, in contrast to the lack of zonation in adult rats. Glucose-6-phosphatase showed a decline with increasing cell diameter in immature hepatocytes, whereas GPT did not show any zonation. In rats aged 20 days the zonation of these parameters in liver was in between younger and older animals.
mesh_terms: D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D019363:Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1; D003577:Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System / Q000378:metabolism; D005952:Glucose-6-Phosphatase / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology* / Q000201:enzymology; D008297:Male; D009245:NADH Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism; D010088:Oxidoreductases / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344
chemical_list: D003577:Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System; D010088:Oxidoreductases; D019363:Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1; D009245:NADH Dehydrogenase; D000410:Alanine Transaminase; D005952:Glucose-6-Phosphatase