Loss of the labelled glycoproteins from the circulation was very rapid in all cases and was complete within IOmin, more than 80% of the injected label being present in the liver (P. Thomas & M. Jones, unpublished results). An even distribution of labelling was found throughout the liver 15min after intravenous injection of asialo-al-acid glycoprotein, with silver grains deposited mainly over he...

Activation of Kupffer cells is a prominent feature of necro-inflammatory liver injury. We have recently demonstrated that 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) and its accessory protein, 5-LO-activating protein (FLAP), are essential for the survival of Kupffer cells in culture, as their inhibition drives these liver resident macrophages to programmed cell death. In the current study, we explored whether the po...

Kupffer cells are the resident macrophage population of the liver and have previously been implicated in the pathogenesis of hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI). Kupffer cells are the major site of expression of hepatic heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), which has been shown to have anti-inflammatory actions and to protect animals and cells from oxidative injury. Kupffer cells and circulating monoc...

IL-6 and TNF-alpha production by Kupffer cells is markedly stimulated following trauma-hemorrhage (T-H). Because IL-10 is an anti-inflammatory cytokine, the aim of this study was to determine whether IL-10 regulates Kupffer cell proinflammatory cytokine release following T-H. To study this, we subjected adult male Sprague-Dawley rats to sham operation or T-H. The procedure involved a 5-cm midli...

Treatment of newborn pigs with supplemental iron is a common procedure utilized to prevent neonatal anemia. The aim of this study was to investigate the hepatic distribution and intracellular metabolism of iron-dextran, a widely used colloidal-iron-carbohydrate preparation. Piglets were injected intramuscularly with iron-dextran (50 mg Fe/kg body wt) at 1 d of age. Hepatocytes and sinusoidal ce...

Endothelin-3 (ET-3) stimulated phosphoinositide metabolism and synthesis of prostaglandins in cultured rat Kupffer cells. ET-3-induced hydrolysis of phosphoinositides was characterized by the production of various inositol phosphates and of glycerophosphoinositol. The mechanism of ET-3-stimulated metabolism of phosphoinositides and synthesis of prostaglandins appeared to be distinct from the ef...

Introduction Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) develops in approximately 20% of all alcoholics with a higher prevalence in females [1]. The development of fibrosis and cirrhosis is a complex process involving both parenchymal and non-parenchymal cells resident in the liver, as well as the recruitment of additional cell types to the liver in response to damage and inflammation [2]. Kupffer cells, th...