Abstract

Various liver diseases result in liver failure, and liver transplantation and artificial liver support systems are emerging as alternative therapies for these disease. However, both treatments are depending on cell resources, so isolating sufficient number of functional primary hepatocytes is a most important early issue. Isolated hepatocytes are also a suitable system for the physiological, pharmacological and toxicological study of hepatic uptake, metabolism, excretion and toxicity. In this paper, the methods for hepatocyte isolation are reviewed; the culture and assessment methods are also examined. Hepatocyte transplantation and hepatocyte-based bioartificial liver support systems have attracted the attention of researchers. From a future perspective, developing of gene engineering is emerging as a promising way to modify cells, and this is renewing interest in the development of methods for isolation and culture of hepatocytes.

Keywords: Liver transplantation; Liver cirrhosis; Hepatocytes