title: Extended primary culture of human hepatocytes in a collagen gel sandwich system.
abstract: To develop a strategy for extended primary culture of human hepatocytes, we placed human hepatocytes between two layers of collagen gel, called a "collagen gel sandwich." Maintenance of hepatocellular functions in this system was compared with that of identical hepatocyte preparations cultured on dry-collagen coated dishes or cocultured with rat liver epithelial cells. Human hepatocytes in a collagen gel sandwich (five separate cultures) survived for more than 4 wk, with the longest period of culture being 78 d. They maintained polygonal morphology with bile canaliculuslike structures and high levels of albumin secretion throughout the period of culture. In contrast, hepatocytes on dry-collagen became feature-less, and albumin secretion could not be detected after 14 d of culture. This loss of albumin secretion was partially recovered by overlaying one layer of collagen gel. Ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase activity, associated with cytochrome P450 1A2, was detected basally up to 29 d in collagen gel sandwich culture. These activities were induced four- to eightfold after induction with dibenz(a,h)anthracene. Cocultures also maintained basal activity up to 29 d. However, their inducibility was lower than that of hepatocytes in collagen gel sandwich. No ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase activity was detected in hepatocytes cultured on dry-collagen at 7 d. Thus, the collagen gel sandwich system preserves differentiated morphology and functions of human hepatocytes in primary culture for a prolonged period of time. This system is a promising model for studying human hepatocellular function, including protein synthesis and drug metabolism in vitro.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kono
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Roberts
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000418:Albumins / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002648:Child; D018920:Coculture Techniques / Q000379:methods; D003094:Collagen; D019363:Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1 / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005782:Gels; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D051381:Rats; D014168:Transferrin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000418:Albumins; D005782:Gels; D014168:Transferrin; D003094:Collagen; D019363:Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1