Lysosomes in Kupffer cells isolated from young and old rats
bookPart
Nonparenchymal cells were isolated from the livers of female BN/BiRij rats by means of perfusion and incubation with pronase. After further purification by centrifugal elutriation, a Kupffer cell fraction with a purity and a viability of at least 90% was obtained. With this procedure, Kupffer cells were prepared from young rats 3 months of dge and old rats aged 33-35 months. The yield of Kupffer cells per gram wet weight of liver did not differ for young and old rats. The lysosomal system of these Kupffer cells was studied as a relevant prerequisite for understanding the endocytotic capacity of cells from both young and old animals. The specific activities of most lysosomal enzymes studied were higher in Kupffer cells than in the nonparenchymal cell suspensions or the parenchymal cells. Cathepsin D and aminopeptidase B in Kupffer cells were greatly increased in activities during aging; the activities of acid phosphatase and β-galactosidase remained constant, while arylsulphatase B and β-glucuronidase showed decreased activity in cells from old rats. The elucidation of the functional meaning of these changes needs further studies with cultured Kupffer cells.
TNO Identifier
355031
Publisher
Elsevier
Source title
Liver and aging
Editor(s)
Kitani, K.
Place of publication
Amsterdam
Pages
241-252
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