Urea production in long-term cultures of adult rat hepatocytes

To study the functionality of the urea cycle in long-term cultures of adult rat hepatocytes, urea production and the activity of two urea cycle enzymes were measured in hepatocytes cultured on 3T3 cells for 15 days. Urea production was also measured in cultures maintained with medium containing either 0.4 mm arginine or 0.4 mm ornithine and in cultures exposed to different concentrations of NH(4)Cl, an in vivo inducer of urea production. In hepatocytes seeded on 3T3 cells, urea production decreased gradually to 50% of the initial value after 15 days. Urea production was similar in 3T3-hepatocyte cultures maintained for 11 days with medium containing ornithine or arginine. Hepatocytes exposed for 24 hr to 1, 3 and 5 mm NH(4)Cl showed an average increase in urea production of 25, 50 and 69%, respectively, above that of unexposed cultures over 15 days. Ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) activity decreased by 84% after 5 days in culture and remained constant thereafter, while arginase activity remained constant over 15 days. In contrast, in hepatocytes seeded on plastic substratum, urea production decreased to 24% of the initial value after 8 days in culture. OTC and arginase activities also decreased to 13 and 10% of their initial values after 8 days in culture. These results show that 3T3-hepatocyte cultures from adult rats produce urea from ornithine and/or arginine for at least 15 days and respond to an inducer of urea production as in vivo. They also show that these cultures have decreasing and constant levels of OTC and arginase activities, respectively, owing probably to an adaptative response dependent on substrate concentrations and hormonal regulation. These findings also suggest that 3T3-hepatocyte cultures are a suitable in vitro system to study urea production, its regulation by substrates and hormones and its alteration by drugs and toxic chemicals.