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Kupffer cell

 

 
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Kupffer cell
 
 
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Kupffer cells, also known as Browicz-Kupffer cells, are specialized macrophage
Macrophage

Macrophages are white blood cells within tissues, produced by the division of monocytes. Human macrophages are about 21 micrometres in diameter....
s located in the liver
Liver

The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals; it has a wide range of functions, a few of which are detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion....
 that form part of the reticuloendothelial system
Reticuloendothelial system

The reticuloendothelial system , part of the immune system, consists of the phagocytosis cells located in reticular connective tissue, primarily monocytes and macrophages....
 (aka: mononuclear phagocyte system).

cells were first observed by Karl Wilhelm von Kupffer
Karl Wilhelm von Kupffer

Karl Wilhelm von Kupffer was a German anatomist who discovered Kupffer cell macrophage cells that bear his name.The eldest son of pastor Karl Hermann Kupffer , Kupffer received his medical doctorate from the University of Tartu in 1854....
 in 1876. The scientist called them "sternzellen" (star cells or stellate cells) but thought, falsely, that they were an integral part of the endothelium
Endothelium

The endothelium is the thin layer of cell that line the interior surface of blood vessels, forming an interface between circulating blood in the lumen and the rest of the vessel wall....
 of the liver blood vessels and that they originated from it.






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Kupffer cells, also known as Browicz-Kupffer cells, are specialized macrophage
Macrophage

Macrophages are white blood cells within tissues, produced by the division of monocytes. Human macrophages are about 21 micrometres in diameter....
s located in the liver
Liver

The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals; it has a wide range of functions, a few of which are detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion....
 that form part of the reticuloendothelial system
Reticuloendothelial system

The reticuloendothelial system , part of the immune system, consists of the phagocytosis cells located in reticular connective tissue, primarily monocytes and macrophages....
 (aka: mononuclear phagocyte system).

History

The cells were first observed by Karl Wilhelm von Kupffer
Karl Wilhelm von Kupffer

Karl Wilhelm von Kupffer was a German anatomist who discovered Kupffer cell macrophage cells that bear his name.The eldest son of pastor Karl Hermann Kupffer , Kupffer received his medical doctorate from the University of Tartu in 1854....
 in 1876. The scientist called them "sternzellen" (star cells or stellate cells) but thought, falsely, that they were an integral part of the endothelium
Endothelium

The endothelium is the thin layer of cell that line the interior surface of blood vessels, forming an interface between circulating blood in the lumen and the rest of the vessel wall....
 of the liver blood vessels and that they originated from it. In 1898, after several years of research, Tadeusz Browicz
Tadeusz Browicz

Tadeusz Browicz was a Polish pathologist born in Lviv.He studied medicine in Krak?w, earning his medical doctorate in 1873. Afterwards he remained at Krak?w as an assistant to pathologist Alfred Biesiadecki , and in 1875 received his habilitation....
, a Polish scientist, identified them, correctly, as macrophage
Macrophage

Macrophages are white blood cells within tissues, produced by the division of monocytes. Human macrophages are about 21 micrometres in diameter....
s.

Development

Their development begins in the bone marrow
Bone marrow

Bone marrow is the flexible biological tissue found in the hollow interior of bones. In adults, marrow in large bones produces new blood cells....
 with the genesis of promonocytes and monoblasts into monocytes, and then on to peripheral blood monocyte
Monocyte

Monocyte is a type of leukocyte, part of the human body's immune system. Monocytes have two main functions in the immune system: replenish resident macrophages and dendritic cells under normal states, and in response to inflammation signals, monocytes can move quickly to sites of infection in the tissues and divide/differentiate into mac...
s, completing their differentiation into Kupffer cells.

Function

The red blood cell is broken down by phagocytic action, and the hemoglobin
Hemoglobin

Hemoglobin is the iron-containing oxygen-transport metalloprotein in the red blood cells of vertebrates, and the tissues of some invertebrates....
 molecule is split. The globin chains are reutilized, while the iron-containing portion or heme
Heme

A heme or haem is a prosthetic group that consists of an iron atom contained in the center of a large heterocyclic organic ring called a porphyrin....
 is further broken down into iron, which is reutilized and bilirubin
Bilirubin

Bilirubin is the yellow breakdown product of normal heme catabolism. Heme is formed from hemoglobin, a principal component of red blood cells. Bilirubin is excreted in bile, and its levels are elevated in certain diseases....
, which is conjugated with glucuronic acid
Glucuronic acid

Glucuronic acid is a carboxylic acid. Its structure is similar to that of glucose. However, glucuronic acid's sixth carbon is oxidized to a carboxylic acid....
 within hepatocytes and secreted into the bile
Bile

Bile or gall is a bitter yellow or green fluid secreted by hepatocytes from the liver of most vertebrates. In many species, bile is stored in the gallbladder between meals and upon eating is discharged into the duodenum where the bile aids the process of digestion of lipids....
.

Helmy et al. identified a receptor present in Kupffer cells, the complement receptor of the immunoglobulin family
Complement receptor of the immunoglobulin family

Complement receptor of the immunoglobulin family is a protein expressed in Kupffer cells....
 (CRIg). Mice without CRIg could not clear complement system
Complement system

The complement system is a biochemical cascade that helps clear pathogens from an organism. It is part of the larger immune system that is not adaptable and does not change over the course of an individual's lifetime; as such it belongs to the innate immunity....
-coated pathogens. CRIg is conserved in mice and humans and is a critical component of the innate immune system.

External links

- "Mammal, liver (EM, Low)"