Long term production of acute-phase proteins by adult rat hepatocytes co-cultured with another liver cell type in serum-free medium.
Three acute-phase proteins, haptoglobin, alpha 2-macroglobulin and hemopexin, as well as albumin, have been measured daily in the hydrocortisone-supplemented serum-free medium of pure and mixed cultures of adult rat hepatocytes for 5 and 20 days respectively. Whereas plasma protein production rapidly declined in pure culture, it remained relatively stable when hepatocytes were co-cultured with rat liver epithelial cells. In the latter cultures, an early stimulation of albumin and alpha 2-macroglobulin secretion was observed. In addition, four other plasma proteins, fibrinogen, alpha 1-acute-phase protein, alpha 1-acid glycoprotein and alpha 1-antitrypsin were shown by immunodiffusion to still be produced by day 20 of co-culture. These results suggest that hepatocyte co-cultures represent a suitable model for studying the mechanism which controls synthesis of plasma proteins, including acute-phase proteins by liver cells.
D000418:Albumins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003470:Culture Media; D004848:Epithelium / Q000378:metabolism; D006242:Haptoglobins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D006466:Hemopexin / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D007700:Kinetics; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D000511:alpha-Macroglobulins / Q000096:biosynthesis*
D000418:Albumins; D003470:Culture Media; D006242:Haptoglobins; D000511:alpha-Macroglobulins; D006466:Hemopexin