Isoenzyme patterns in parenchymal and non-parenchymal cells isolated from regenerating and regenerated rat liver

Abstract

Parenchymal and non-parenchymal cells were isolated from adult rat liver that had been fully regenerated after a 70% partial hepatectomy. The characteristics of the parenchymal cell preparations from regenerated rat liver indicated that they were a homogeneous population and comparable with parenchymal cells isolated from intact liver. The parenchymal cells from regenerated adult rat liver contain glucokinase, hexokinase, pyruvate kinase type I and aldolase B. The non-parenchymal cells contain hexokinase, pyruvate kinase type III and aldolase B. When cells were isolated at different times of the day from rats on controlled feeding schedules, variation of tyrosine aminotransferase activity and liver glycogen content were observed in the parenchymal cells in keeping with the reported diurnal oscillations found in whole liver extracts. When parenchymal cells were isolated from rats 48 and 72h after partial hepatectomy, different isoenzyme patterns were observed. These cells appeared to synthesize pyruvate kinase type III, a function that was assigned previously to non-parenchymal cells or to foetal rat liver hepatocytes.