Rapid
Publication
Fat-storing
Cells
as
Liver-specific Pericytes
Spatial Dynamics
ofAgonist-stimulated
Intracellular Calcium Transients Massimo Pinzani, Paola Failli,*Carlo Ruocco,* Alessandro Casini,t StefanoMilani,*
Elisabetta
Baldi,O
Alberto Giotti,* and Paolo GentiliniIstitutodi ClinicaMedicaII;*Centro InteruniversitarioIpossie;tUnitddi Gastroenterologia; and Unitd diEndocrinologia-Dipartimento diFisiopatologia Clinica, Universita di Firenze, I-50134 Firenze, Italy
Abstract
Liver perisinusoidalfat-storingcells(FSC)show
morphologi-cal andultrastructural characteristics similartopericytes
regu-lating local blood flowinotherorgans.Inthepresentstudywe
haveanalyzedwhether FSCrespondtolocalvasoconstrictors suchasthrombin,angiotensin-II,and endothelin-1 withan
in-creaseinintracellular free calcium concentration
(ICa2I1I)
cou-pled with effective cell contraction. Allagoniststested induced
arapidand dose-dependent increase in
ICa2`i1
followed byasustained phase lasting several minutes in confluent
mono-layersofFura-2-loaded human FSC. Pharmacologicalstudies performed using differentCa2+channel blockers indicatedthat,
atleast for thrombin andangiotensin-II, the sustainedphase is duetotheopeningofvoltage-sensitive membrane
Ca2"
chan-nels. To analyze the temporal and spatial dynamicsofCa2"
release in response to these agonists, we performed experi-ments onindividual Fura-2-loaded human FSC using a dual
wavelength, ratiometric video imaging system. The rise in
ICa2"],
wasexclusively
localizedtothecytoplasm,
particularly
inthe branchingprocesses.Increases in
ICa2"1,
morethanfour-foldwereassociated withasimultaneous andtransient
reduc-tion of cellareaindicating reversible cell contraction. Our
re-sults indicate that the
Ca2"-dependent
contraction of human FSC in vitromayreflectapotentialrole inregulatingsinusoidalblood flow in vivo. (J. Clin. Invest. 1992. 90:642-646.) Key
words:fat-storingcells*intracellular free calcium*cell
contrac-tion*thrombin*angiotensin-II *endothelin-1
Introduction
Liverfat-storingcells(FSC1;alsoknownasperisinusoidal
stel-latecells, lipocytes,Itocells) have recently beenshowntoplay importantroles in retinolmetabolism and hepatic fibrogenesis
Portions of this workwerepresented in abstract formattheannual meetingof theAmerican Association fortheStudy of Liver Diseases, Chicago, IL,2-5November 1991.
AddresscorrespondencetoMassimoPinzani,M.D., Ph.D.,Istituto
di Clinica Medica II, Universita di Firenze, Viale Morgagni, 85,
1-50134Firenze, Italy.
Receivedfor publication24March 1992 andinrevisedform4 May
1992.
(forreview see 1, 2). Apossible role of FSC as liver-specific pericyteshas also beenhypothesized (1-3). Indeed,FSCshow
morphological and ultrastructural characteristics similar to pericytes regulatingblood flow in other organs. These include: perisinusoidal and interhepatocellular branching processes
containing massive 5-nm actin-like filaments and encircling neighboringsinusoids (4), a contact surface between stellate cells and nerveendings (5),and theexpressionofthea-smooth muscle actin gene(6).
The presentstudywasundertaken toverifywhetherFSC,
like otherperivascularcontractilecells, respondtolocal
vaso-constrictors such asthrombin,endothelin-1, and angiotensin-II.For this purpose, we have analyzed the variations of intra-cellular free calcium concentration
([Ca2]ji)
inmonolayersand inindividualagonist-stimulatedFSC isolated from normal hu-man liver. Inaddition,wehave studied the reversiblechangesofcell areacoupled withagonist-stimulated intracellular cal-cium transientsby usingadynamicvideoimaging techniqueof cellular fluorescence.
Methods
Isolation, culture, and characterization of human FSC. HumanFSC wereisolated from wedge sections of normal humanliver unsuitable fortransplantation.After extensivewashingsinsaline,liver tissuewas
finelymincedusinga razorblade, placed in asterile flaskcontaining
0.5% pronase(103 proteolyticU/mg; Calbiochem Corp., SanDiego, CA),0.05% typeIVcollagenase(SigmaChemical Co., St.Louis, MO),
and 10
Ag/ml
of DNAse(bovinepancreas;Calbiochem)in 100 mlofHBSSwithout calcium and magnesium, and agitated at370Cfor 30 min. Theresultingcellsuspensionwasfilteredthrough a105-Mmnylon gauze. The undigestedtissue retained into the gauze was further di-gestedusing0.05% pronase,filtered,and pooledwith theremainder of the cellsuspension.Thecombineddigestwaswashedfourtimesat450 gfor 10 min in HBSScontaining 10Mg/ml ofDNAse andthefinal
pelletwasfinally resuspendedin 25 mlofthe samesolution.FSC were separatedfromotherlivernonparenchymalcellsbyultracentrifugation over gradients of stractan (Larex-LO; Larex International Co., Ta-coma,WA)asdescribed elsewhere (7,8). FSC were recovered from the interface between the 1.053 stractan gradient and the medium. Cells recoveredatthis level (1.4X 106cells/gof tissue) were highlyviable and
- 90%pure.
Cells were cultured in Iscove's modified Dulbecco's medium
(Gibco Laboratories,Grand Island, NY) supplemented with 0.6 U/ml
insulin, 2mM glutamine,0.1 mMnonessential amino acids, 1 mM 1.Abbreviations used in thispaper: AII, angiotensin-II;
[Ca2"],,
extra-cellularcalcium;[Ca2+]i,
intracellular free calciumconcentration; ET-1,endothelin-l;FSC,fat-storingcells; KHH,Krebs-Henseleit-Hepes; SFIF,serum-freeinsulin-free;THR, thrombin.J.Clin. Invest.
© The AmericanSocietyforClinical Investigation, Inc.
0021-9738/92/08/0642/05 $2.00
sodium pyruvate,antibioticantifungal solution,and 20%fetalbovine serum. Experimentsdescribed in thisstudywereperformedoncells betweenfirstand second passageusingtwoindividual celllines. Hu-manFSCinprimary culture wereidentifiedbyimmunostaining for intermediatefilaments, surface antigens, and by transmission electron microscopy. Cells platedontosterile tissue culture chambers (Lab-tek Div., MilesLaboratories Inc.,Naperville,IL) were washedtwice with PBS, driedovernight at room temperature, andfixed in acetone at 4VC for 5 min. Monoclonalantibodies specific forvimentin (V9; Dako-patts, Glostrup,Denmark),a-smooth muscleactin (1A4; BioGenex,
San Ramon,CA)humandesmin(D-33;Dakopatts), pan-cytokeratin
(Lu5; BoehringerMannheimGmbH,Mannheim, Germany), Ki-M IP,
directedagainst themonocyte/macrophageantigenCD68 (9), and poly-clonalantibodiesagainst factorVIII-relatedantigen(Dakopatts), and
porcinedesmin(SigmaChemicalCo.)wereappliedontocells and de-tected with the alkaline anti-phosphatase anti-alkaline phosphatase (APAAP)method(10). Cells demonstratedintense staining for
vimen-tin,andslightly fora-smooth muscleactinandporcinedesmin. The negativestainingfor CD-68, factorVIII-relatedantigens,and
cytokera-tin,demonstratedtheabsence ofcontaminatingmono/macrophagic,
endothelial,andepithelial cells, respectively. Transmissionelectron mi-croscopystudies, performedasdescribedelsewhere(1 1),revealed the presenceofnumerouslargelipiddroplets in the cytoplasmassociated
with abundant bundlesofmyofilaments.
Fluorimetric analysisof intracellular freecalcium inhumanFSC
monolayers. HumanFSCweregrowntoconfluenceon 14X 14mm
plastic (Aclar,Pottsville, PA) cover slips in complete culture medium, and thenincubated inserum-free insulin-free(SFIF)mediumfor24h. Loading of the cells with the fluorescentCa2" indicator Fura-2-AM
(Calbiochem)wasachievedbyincubatingthecellsfor 45 min at370C
with 1MMFura-2-AM. The loading medium was then replaced with 1 mloffreshSFIFmedium and the cells wereincubated for additional 20 minat370C,followedbyrinsing with ice-cold Krebs-Henseleit-Hepes
(KHH)containing(inmM):Na+140.7, K+5.3,Cl- 132.4,Ca2+ 1.0, Mg2'0.81,glucose 5.5, Hepes20.3, with0.1%fatty acid-free bovine
serumalbumin, pH 7.4. Thecoverslipswereplaceddiagonallyina
square quartzcuvette sothattheexcitationandemission pathswere at a450 angletothecoverslip.The cuvette, containing2 mlofKHH
buffer, was maintained at 37°C. Thrombin (THR; from human plasma, Boehringer Mannheim) endothelin-l
(ET-l;
Novabiochem AG,Llufelfingen,Switzerland) orangiotensin-II (All;Novabiochem) weredirectly added to the cuvette, andfluorescencewascontinuously recorded, under constantstirring,byaJohnsonFoundation Biomedi-calInstrumentationGroupfluorometer (Philadelphia,PA) using a sin-gle-wavelengthexcitation(340nm)/emission(500 nm). In someexper-iments,cell monolayers werepretreatedwith 3mMEGTA(Sigma)or with twoCa2+channelblockers,namelybepridil andnifedipine(both
purchased from Calbiochem). Calibration was performed for each
coverslipasindicatedelsewhere(12).Cellautofluorescencewas evalu-atedinparallelcoverslipsbothbymeasuring fluorescenceof unloaded cells andbyquenchingFura-2fluorescencewith 1 mMMnCI2 afterthe addition ofionomycin.In bothcasescellautofluorescencewas
negligi-bleand, inaddition,itwas notmodified by addition of theagonists,as
measuredinmonolayersnotloadedwith Fura-2.
Digital video imagingof intracellularfreecalcium in individual
FSC. For theseexperimentshuman FSCwereseededatlowdensity
and grown incompleteculturemediumonroundglasscoverslips (25
mmdiameter, 0.2mmthick) for72h,and thenincubated for 24hin SFIFmedium. Cellswereloadedwith 10,MFura-2-AM in
Hepes-NaHCO3 buffer containing 140 mM NaCl, 3 mM KCI, 0.5 mM NaH2PO4, 12mMNaHCO3, 1.2mM MgCI2, 10mMHepes, 10 mM glucose, with 0.1%fattyacid-free bovineserumalbumine, pH 7.4,at
37°Cfor 45 min(13).Afterloading,thecoverslipswerewashed and storedat roomtemperatureuntilused(always<45minafterloading).
Thecoverslipswerethenplaced inaperfusionchamber mountedon
the stageofaDiaphot-TMDepifluorescenceinvertedmicroscope (Ni-konCo., Tokyo, Japan) equippedwitha xenon lamp. Fura-2-loaded cellswere visualized with a Nikon CF x100 oil immersion orx40
objectives (Nikon Co.).Afilter cassettewith adichroicmirror(DM 400)and abarrier filter(BA 510)wereused. Excitationwavelengths
werealternated between 340 and 380 nm with an automatedfilter
changer.Neutraldensity filters were used to diminish Fura-2
photob-leaching.Videoimageswereobtained with an extended ISIS-M camera
(Photonic Science,RobertsBridge,EastSussex, UK)andthe resultant
analogicvideo signalfrom the camera wasdigitalized with an 8-bit analogue-to-digital converter. Images were collected every 5 s for a standard time of 5-6 min.Agonistswereaddeddirectlyto the
perfu-sion chamber immediately after recording the [Ca2]ij basal value.
[Ca2+]i
wascalculatedusing "Tardis" software(Joyce Loebl,Newcas-tle, UK)after the creation ofratioimages (340:380)by dividingoriginal images from whichthebackground (cell removed) had been subtracted onapixel-to-pixel basis. The calibration was performed according to Cheung et al. (14), calculating A,
Rn,,,,,
andR,.,foreach preparation andusingaKdfor Fura-2 of 224accordingtoGrynkiewicset al.(15).Tomeasure cellarea, spatial calibration was performed by measuring division on a graticule under the same opticalconditions as the rest of theexperiments.
Results and
Discussion
Fig. 1 illustrates thechanges in
[Ca2+]i
induced by exposure of human FSCmonolayers to THR, All, and ET- I in a series of representativeexperiments. For all agonists tested, the onset ofresponses was virtually immediate and peak increments of
[Ca2+]i,
over a resting level of90-100 nM, were transiently reached within 15-20 s,decliningrapidly to a sustained phase which was maintained for several minutes. When otherwise identicalexperiments were performed in virtual absence ofex-tracellular calcium
([Ca2-`)
the peak height of the calcium transient induced by all agonistswas reduced onaverageby 5-10% and thesustainedphase was almostcompletely abro-gated. These observations indicate that the peak effect induced by these vasoconstrictors ismainly due to intracellular release ofCa2+ from cytosolic stores, whereas the sustained phasede-pendsonstimulated influx. In the presenceof1.0mM
[Ca2k]e
the sustainedphase induced by exposuretoTHR and Allwas
abolished by pretreating cell monolayers with two different membraneCa2+ channelblockers, namely bepridil (a pheneth-ylamine type of
Ca2'
channelblocker)andnifedipine (a 1 ,4-di-hydropyridine type of Ca2+ channel blocker), suggesting thatthestimulatedentryofextracellularcalciumresponsiblefor the sustainedphase is likely duetotheopeningof voltage-depen-dent transmembrane Ca2+ channels. Indeed, the two Ca2+ channel blockersused,belongingtoseries with different
molec-ularstructure,have been shown tospecificallyblock thesame
putativevoltage-sensitive
Ca21
channels(16).Conversely,pre-treatment with nifedipine or bepridil did not affect the sus-tainedphaseinducedby exposuretoET-l in thepresence of 1.0mM
[Ca2J]i
failingtosupportarole forvoltage-dependent Ca2+channelsor,atleast,forthosephenethylamine-and 1.4-dihydropyridine-sensitive.InFura-2-loaded human FSCmonolayersthe
[Ca2+]i
in-creaseinducedby THR,All,andET-I wasdose-dependentasshowninFig.2.
The results of this first set ofexperiments indicated that
human FSC respond tolocal vasoconstrictoragonists with a rapidincrease in
[Ca2+]i
asotherperivascularcontractilecells. Inaddition,themorphologyand thedynamicsof[Ca2+]i,
andthepharmacologicaleffects of
voltage-dependent
Ca2"
blockers for the three agonists used, are similar to those previously showninsmooth muscle cells(17),and in otherorgan-specific pericytes suchasglomerularmesangial
cells(18-21).1 min j893
~~~~~771
701-674AI1
a 0L 1011w. 97L~ 100o o"mt
Thrombin 5.0 U/mlLca2+].
1.0mMt
Thrombin 5.0U/mlLCa2+].
0.0mM 1 min 800 +ff 400 0c200-OL
t
Al 0.1 pMt
t I EGTA Thrombin 3 mM 5.0 Ut/mA[Ca2+].
0.0mM Bepridil Thrombin 1dM 5.0 U/mlEca
].
1.0mM
tt ,tEGTA All Nifedipine Aff
3 mM 0.1 JpM 10 pM 0.1 PM
[Ca2+]e
1.0mM [Co2+]j
00mM[Eco"+]
1.0mM 1min Lj 800 600 400 200 ET-1 0.1 pM LCU2+]e 1.0mMt
,t
t
EGTA ET-1 Nifedipine ET-1
3 mM 0.1 jpM 10pM 0.1 pM ca2+]e 0.0mM Lca ]. 1.0mM
tt
Bepridil ET-110i6M
0.1 JjM LCa2+e 1.0mMFigure1.Changesincytosolicfree calcium concentration([Ca2+]i) in-ducedbyexposureofFura-2-loaded human FSCmonolayerstodifferent vasoconstrictoragonists.Human FSCmonolayerswere loadedwith Fura-2-AM as described inMethods.
(A)Addition of thrombin at a final concentration of 5.0 NIHunits/ml
induced arapid[Ca(j] peak incre-mentfollowedbyasustainedphase lastingseveral minutes. Thisplateau
wasvirtually abolished byrepeating
theexperimentsinthe absence of extracellularcalcium
([Ca2"],)
with orwithoutpretreatmentwith 3.0 mMEGTA.Similarly,the sustained phase wasabolishedbypretreatingthe cells with 10-6Mbepridil,a
phenethylamine typeofcalcium channelblocker, in thepresenceof 1.0 nM
[Ca2'J%.
Similar results were obtainedpretreatingthe cells with10MM nifedipine,a
dihydropyri-dine-sensitive
Ca2"
channel blocker(not shown).(B)Similar[Ca2+]i in-creases wereinducedbythe addition ofangiotensinII at a final concen-tration of0.1MM. Analogously, the
sustainedphase wasabolished either
byperformingtheexperimentin thevirtualabsenceof
[Ca2"],
orbypretreatingthe cells with 10 M
ni-fedipine. (C) Additionof0.1 M endothelin-I inducedanalogous
[Ca2]iincreases withabrogationof thesustainedphasein the absence of
[Ca2`],.
However,bothnifedipineandbepridilwereineffectivein
abolishingthesustainedphase. Sinceanelevation of
[Ca2J]i
insmooth musclecells resultsin activation of contractile proteins (22) and FSC have been hypothesizedtoplayarole in the local regulation of sinusoidal
hemodynamics,wehave also analyzed cell contractility in
re-sponse to thesameagonists able toincrease
[Ca2+]i.
Forthispurpose we employed a dual wavelength, ratiometric video
imagingsystemthat allowstostudy variations of
[Ca2+]i
along with changesofcellareain individual Fura-2-loadedcells.Sim-ilarlytowhatwasobservedin the experiments performed using
cellmonolayers,exposureof individual FSCtoTHR,AII,and
ET-1resultedinarapid and transient increase of
[Ca2J]i
over a resting level of 140-150nM.Whenmorethanonecellperfieldwasobserved, itwasevidentthat the number of cells
respond-ing and the extentofresponsewerevariable,ranging from 0 (nonresponders)to 10-fold increase in
[Ca2J]i.
Inaddition, ago-nist-inducedCa2+ transients did notbegin simultaneouslyindifferentcells butvariedupto60s,indicating different
activa-tiontimes.Video-imaging analysis revealed thattheincrease of
[Ca2+]i
begins in discrete areas located atthe cell periphery, particularly in the branching processes, with subsequentspreadingtothe cellcytoplasm, often withatypical"calcium
wave"pattern.Amongthe three agonists tested, THRwasthe mosteffective intermsof the number of responding cellsand
extent of
[Ca2"Ji
increase. Indeed, a clear response wasob-served in 20outofthe 24 cellcells analyzed, withanaverage
delta increase of- 600 nM.Fig. 3 shows four selected
time-se-quence frames from a representative experiment performed
using 0.3 NIH units of THR. By analyzing the frame-to-frame variations of cell area versusthe changesof
[Ca2+]i
(Fig. 4)itwasevident that the calcium increase induced by THRwas
coupled witha simultaneous and transient reduction of cell
area,indicating reversible cell contraction. Similarly, reversible
changes of cellareacoupled with
[Ca2+]i
increases (more thanfourfold)wereobserved when FSCwerestimulated with both
ET-1andAII, although the number of responding cells and the
extentofresponse werelower than thoseinduced by THR.
Insummary,the results of thisstudy demonstratethatin
humanFSCvasoconstrictoragonistsinduce intracellular
cal-cium transientscoupled with cell contraction analogouslyto
whatwasobserved in other bettercharacterized pericytes.
Al-L~1
c
.)
x c ._ 0o 0.1 1.0 5.0 10.0 IThrombinl U/mi 700 600 500 400
300F
200 100 -9 -8 -7 -6 tog10[Angiotenin-ull
M 700 X 600 c 500v.-
400-a 300 200 t9oo o3~ 0 -12 -11 -10 -9 -8 -7 -6 log10Endothelin-11
MFigure2.Dose-responsecurvesfor the effect ofdifferent vasoconstrictor agonistson[Ca,]ipeakincrease inmonolayersof Fura-2-loadedhuman FSC. Human FSC monolayerswereloaded with Fura-2asdescribedinMethods. (A)Thrombin.(B) AngiotensinII.(C)Endothelin-1. Dataare
means±SD for three individual determinations.
though the in vivo biologic relevance of these observations
re-mains speculative, the results of this in vitro study strongly
supportthehypothesis that FSC, beyond their morphological
appearance, mayfunction as perisinusoidal contractile cells.
Thepresenceofafunctionally active contractileapparatus
en-circling the sinusoids suggests that these vascular structures
might constituteamajor regulatory site of intrahepatic- blood
flow. Theresponsesinduced inFSC by endothelium-derived
Figure3.Time-sequence changesin intracellularcalcium concentrationinasingleFura-2-loaded human FSCrespondingto 0.3 NIHunits/ml of
thrombin(representative experiment).Fura-2loadingandexperimental proceduresaredescribedinMethods. Frame numberandtime(s) after
the additionof theagonistareshown in the left lowercornerof eachframe. Frame 3(0.0 s)showsrestinglevels of[Ca+2]i.Frame 25(61.4 s)shows
that increase in
[Ca+2]i
(indicated bythe shift fromgreen-bluetoorange-red)starts at the cellperipheryandrapidly progressesthroughthecyto-plasm (frame 33,79.4s)as a"calcium wave." Frame 43(101.9 s)showstheprogressivereturnto basalvalues. Note the reductionof cellarea
associated with the increasein[Ca2]i.
a L2J Iq 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0
i 1400 ---- C C 1000 20008 8600 1500. 200---0
---'---
1000 I Time s.L=5sFigure4.Increaseinintracellular calciumconcentration
[Ca2"i
iscoupledwithreversiblecellcontraction inanindividual
Fura-2-loaded human FSC. Datafrom the samerepresentative experiment
shown inFig.3. 0.3 NIHunits/ml thrombinwereaddedatthetime
pointindicatedbythe black arrow.Ratioframeswerecollectedevery 5s.Closedcircles,
[Ca2i]
nM;opencircles, cell area RM2.mediators, suchasET-1 andAII, raisethe possibility of alocal regulation of sinusoidal resistanceoperated byFSC-sinusoidal endothelium interactions.
Itshould be noted, however, that early passaged human FSC, asthose employed in the present study,arecharacterized by an "activated" phenotype resembling "transitional" or
"myofibroblast-like" cells rather than quiescentFSCretaining theoriginal "storing" phenotype.Thisphenotypical transition, normally observed in cultures onplastic or glass (23) and in
vivoduring active fibrogenesis(24), is characterized by a pro-gressively more intense staining for a-smooth muscle actin (25).Myofibroblast-like cells with prominenta-smoothmuscle actin filaments have been described in fibroussepta, around sinusoids, and terminal hepatic venules of cirrhoticlivers(26).
Inthisclinical condition they are believedto be responsible for
thecontraction of maturing scar tissueand to contribute, by maintaining a contractile state, to the increased resistance to portal flow (27). Although the relevance of our findingstothe situation in normal liver remains to be established, they are likely to be more representative of FSC contractile statusin
fibrotic
liver. The potenteffect of THR describedin thisstudy provides an example of the effect of vasoconstricting agentspossibly
involved in this process. In conclusion,our observa-tions open new perspectives in the interpretation of mecha-nisms regulating intrahepatic blood flow andmaycontributetothedevelopment of
pharmacological
strategies able to affect intrasinusoidal blood pressure.Acknowledgments
Theauthorswish to thank Chiara Sali and Renata Salzano for excellent technicalassistance, and Fabio Marra, M.D., for his expert advice.
This work wassupported by grants from ConsiglioNazionaledelle Ricerche (Rome, Italy), and Ministero Italiano
dell'Universiti
edeltaRicerca Scientifica eTecnologica-ProgettoNazionale Cirrosi Epatica (Rome, Italy). Financial support was also provided byFondazione Ita-liana per lo Studio del Fegato(Italian Liver Foundation, Florence, Italy).
References
1.Wake, K. 1980.Perisinusoidal stellate cells (fat-storing cells, interstitial cells, lipocytes), their related structure in and around the liver sinusoids, and vitamin A-storing cells inextrahepatic organs.Int.Rev.Cytol. 66:303-353.
2.Blomhoff,R., and K.Wake. 1991.Perisinusoidalstellate cells of theliver importantroles in retinol metabolism and fibrosis. FASEB (Fed. Am.Soc.Exp.
Biol.)J.5:271-277.
3. Ramadori,G. 1991. The stellate cell(Ito-cell, fat-storingcell,lipocyte,
perisinusoidalcell) oftheliver.Virchows Archiv.BCell. Pathol. 61:147-158.
4.Wake, K. 1988. Liverperivascular cells revealed by gold and silver impreg-nation methods and electronmicroscopy. InBiopathology oftheLiver,an
Un-trastructural Approach. P. Motta,editor. KluwerAcademicPublishers, Dor-drecht,Netherlands.23-26.
5.Lafon,M. E., P.Bioulac-Sage, and N.LeBail.1989. Nerves and
perisinusoi-dal cells in humanliver. In Cells oftheHepatic Sinusoid.E.Wisse,D. L.Knook,
and K.Decker,editors.KuppferCellFoundation,Riswijk,Netherlands. 20:230-234.
6.Ramadori,G., T. H.Veit,S.Shwogler, H. P.Dienes,T.Knittel, H. Rieder, and K. H.Meyer zumBushenfelde. 1990.Expression ofthegeneof a-smooth
muscle actinisoform in ratliver and in ratfat-storing (ITO)cells. Virchows Archiv.BCell.Pathol. 59:349-357.
7. Friedman, S. L., and F. J. Roll. 1987.Isolationand culture ofhepatic
lipocytes,Kuppfercells, andsinusoidalendothelialcellsbydensity gradient
cen-trifugationwith stractan.Anal. Biochem. 161:207-218.
8.Pinzani,M., H. E.Abboud,L.Gesualdo,and S. L. Abboud. 1992. Regula-tionof macrophage-colony stimulatingfactor in liverfat-storingcells bypeptide
growth factors.Am.J.Physiol. (Cell. Physiol.). 262:C876-C881.
9.Wacker, H. H., M. L. Hansmann, H.Lumbeck,H. J.Radzun, and M. R. Parwaresch. 1990. A newpan-macrophages antibodyKi-MlPstains plasmacy-toidcells inparaffin sectionsonlymphnodes.Verh. Dtsch.Ges.Pathol.
74:159-164.
10.Cordell, J. L., B. Falini, W. N. Erber, A. K. Ghosh, Z.Abdulaziz,S.
MacDonald,K.A.F.Pulford,H.Stein,and D. Y. Mason. 1984. Immunoenzy-maticlabelingofmonoclonalantibodiesusingimmunecomplexes ofalkaline
phosphataseandmonoclonalanti-alkalinephosphatase(APAAPcomplexes).J.
Histochem.Cytochem. 32:219-229.
11.Pinzani,M., L.Gesualdo, G.M.Sabbah, and H. E. Abboud. 1989. Effects
ofplatelet-derivedgrowth factorandotherpolypeptidemitogensonDNA synthe-sisandgrowth ofculturedratliverfat-storingcells. J.Clin.Invest.84:1786-1793.
12.Pinzani,M., T.C. Knauss, G. F.Pierce,P.Hsieh,W.Kenney,G. R.
Dubiak,and H. E.Abboud. 1991.Mitogenic signalsforplatelet-derivedgrowth
factor isoforms in liver fat-storing cells. Am. J. Physiol. (Cell. Physiol.).
260:C485-C491.
13.Poenie,M., J. Alderton, R.Steinhardt,and R. Y.Tsien. 1986.Calcium
risesabruptly andbrieflythroughout the cell at the onsetofanaphase. Science
(Wash.DC). 233:886-889.
14.Cheung, J. Y., D. L.Tillotson,R. V.Yelamary, and R. C. Scaduto. 1989.
Cytosolic freecalciumconcentrationinindividualcardiacmyocytes inprimary
culture.Am.J. Physiol. (Cell. Physiol.).256:C1120-1130.
15.Grynkiewicz,G., M.Poenie,and R. Y.Tsien. 1985.Anewgenerationof
Ca2"indicators withgreatlyimproved fluorescenceproperties.J. Biol. Chem. 260:3440-3450.
16.Galizzi,J.-P., M. Borsotto, J.Barhanin,M.Fosset, and M.Lazdunski.
1986.Characterizationandphotoaffinitylabelingofreceptorsites fortheCa2"
channelinhibitorsd-cis-diltiazem,(±)-bepridil, desmethoxyverapamil,and
(+)-PN200-110 inskeletalmuscle transverse tubule membranes. J. Biol. Chem. 261:1393-1397.
17.Neylon, C. B., J.Hoyland, W. T. Mason, and R. F. Irvine. 1990.Spatial
dynamicsofintracellularcalciuminagonist-stimulatedvascular smooth muscle
cells.Am.J.Physiol. (Cell. Physiol.). 28:C675-C686.
18.Kreisberg,J. I., M.Venkatachalam, and D. Troyer. 1985. Contractile properties ofglomerularmesangialcells. Am.J.Physiol.(Renal FluidElectrolyte Physiol.). 18:F457-F463.
19.Simonson,M.S., and M. J. Dunn. 1990.Endothelin- 1 stimulates contrac-tionofratglomerular mesangialcellsandpotentiatesfl-adrenergic-mediated cy-clicadenosinemonophosphateaccumulation.J.Clin.Invest.85:790-797.
20. Shultz, P., T. C. Knauss, P. Mene, and H. E. Abboud. 1989.Mitogenic signalsfor thrombin inmesangialcells:regulation ofphospholipaseC and PDGF genes.Am.J.Physiol. (Renal Fluid Electrolyte PhysiolJ.26:F366-F374.
21. Mene,P., M. S.Simonson,and M. J.Dunn.Physiologyofmesangialcells. 1989.Physiol.Rev.69:1347-1424.
22.Somlyo, A. V., M. Bond, A. P.Somlyo, and A. Scarpa. 1985. Inositol
trisphosphate-induced calciumreleaseandcontractioninvascular smooth mus-cle. Proc.Natl.Acad.Sci. USA.82:5231-5235.
23.Geerts, A., R.Vrijsen,J.Rauteberg, P.Schellinck,and E. Wisse. 1989. In vitrodifferentiation of fat-storing cells parallels marked increase of collagen syn-thesis and secretion. J.Hepatol.(Amst.).9:59-68.
24.Mak,K.M., and C. S.Lieber. 1988. Lipocytes andtransitional cells in alcoholic liver disease:amorphometricstudy.Hepatology.8sl027-1033.
25.Schmitt-Graf, A., S. Kruger, F. Borchard, G. Gabbiani, and H. Denk. 1991.Modulation ofa-smooth muscle actin anddesminexpressionin
perisinu-soidalcellsofnormal anddiseased human livers. Am.J.Pathol. 138:1233-1242.
26.Nakano, M., T. M. Worner, and C. S. Lieber. 1982.Perivenular fibrosis in alcoholic liverinjury: ultrastructure and histological progression. Gastroenterol-ogy.83:777-785.
27.Bhathal, P.5.,and H. J.Grossman. 1985.Reductionof theincreased
portal vascularresistance of the isolated perfused cirrhotic rat liver by vasodila-tors. J.Hepatol. 1:325-337.