Kupffer cell

Kupffer cell

Kupffer cells, also known as Browicz-Kupffer cells, are specialized macrophages located in the liver that form part of the reticuloendothelial system (aka: mononuclear phagocyte system).

History

The cells were first observed by Karl Wilhelm von Kupffer in 1876. [Haubrich WS. "Kupffer of Kupffer cells". Gastroenterology 2004;127:16. PMID 15236167.] The scientist called them "sternzellen" (star cells or stellate cells) but thought falsely that they were an integral part of the endothelium of the liver blood vessels and that they originated from it. In 1898, after several years of research, Tadeusz Browicz, a polish scientist, identified them correctly as macrophages. [Szymanska R, Schmidt-Pospula M. "Studies of liver's reticuloendothelial cells by Tadeusz Browicz and Karl Kupffer. A historical outline". Arch Hist Med (Warsz). 1979;42(3):331-6. PMID 386989.] [Stachura J, Galazka K. "History and current status of Polish gastroenterological pathology." J Physiol Pharmacol. 2003 Dec;54 Suppl 3:183-92. PMID 15075472.]

Development

Their development begins in the bone marrow with the genesis of promonocytes and monoblasts into monocytes and then on to peripheral blood monocytes completing their differentiation into Kupffer cells. [Naito M, Hasegawa G, Takahashi K. "Development, differentiation, and maturation of Kupffer cells." Microsc Res Tech 1997;39:350-64. PMID 9407545.]

Function

The red blood cell is broken down by phagocytic action and the hemoglobin molecule is split. The globin chains are reutilized while the iron containing portion or heme is further broken down into iron which is reutilized and bilirubin, which is conjugated with glucuronic acid within hepatocytes and secreted into the bile.

Helmy et al. identified a receptor present in Kupffer cells, the complement receptor of the immunoglobulin family (CRIg). Mice without CRIg could not clear complement system-coated pathogens. CRIg is conserved in mice and humans and is a critical component of the innate immune system. [cite journal | author = Helmy K, Katschke K, Gorgani N, Kljavin N, Elliott J, Diehl L, Scales S, Ghilardi N, van Lookeren Campagne M | title = CRIg: a macrophage complement receptor required for phagocytosis of circulating pathogens | journal = Cell | volume = 124 | issue = 5 | pages = 915–27 | year = 2006 | pmid = 16530040 | doi = 10.1016/j.cell.2005.12.039]

References

External links

* - "Mammal, liver (EM, Low)"
*


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  • Kupffer cell — Kupf·fer cell ku̇p fər also Kupf·fer s cell fərz n a fixed macrophage of the walls of the liver sinusoids that is stellate with a large oval nucleus and the cytoplasm commonly packed with fragments resulting from phagocytic action Kupffer Karl… …   Medical dictionary

  • Kupffer cell — ▪ anatomy       any of the stellate (star shaped) cells in the linings of the liver sinusoids. The sinusoids are microscopic blood channels. The Kupffer cells are phagocytic, i.e., capable of ingestion of other cells and of foreign particles.… …   Universalium

  • Kupffer cell — [ kʊpfə] noun Anatomy a phagocytic liver cell, involved in the breakdown of red blood cells. Origin early 20th cent.: named after the Bavarian anatomist Karl Wilhelm von Kupffer …   English new terms dictionary

  • kupffer cell — …   Useful english dictionary

  • Kupffer cell sarcoma — hepatic angiosarcoma …   Medical dictionary

  • Kupffer's cell — noun specialized cells in the liver that destroy bacteria, foreign proteins, and worn out blood cells • Hypernyms: ↑cell • Part Holonyms: ↑liver * * * noun see kupffer cell …   Useful english dictionary

  • Cell — The basic structural and functional unit in people and all living things. Each cell is a small container of chemicals and water wrapped in a membrane. Each cell in the human body there are 100 trillion cells in each of us contains the entire… …   Medical dictionary

  • Kupffer cells — phagocytic cells that line the sinusoids of the liver (see macrophage). They are particularly concerned with the formation of bile and are often seen to contain fragments of red blood cells and pigment granules that are derived from the breakdown …   Medical dictionary

  • List of topics in cell biology — Cell invokes a major branch of theory and research known variously as cell biology, cellular biology or cytology. The study of cell tissues is known as histology. Cell types are often referred to using the suffixes blast, clast, cyte, especially… …   Wikipedia

  • Kupffer's vesicle — a small ventro caudal epithelial pocket formed mid ventrally posterior the the yolk cell or its extension as the blastopore narrows in embryonic fish …   Dictionary of ichthyology

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