Phagocytosis of hepatocyte mitochondria by rat Kupffer cells in vitro

Kupffer cells in primary culture bind and endocytose rapidly added rat liver mitochondria. Using phase contrast microscopy various stages of the uptake and digestion of these organelles were documented. Activities of mitochondrial enzymes within the Kupffer cells increased during the early phase of phagocytosis; they later declined, reaching the endogenous level of the Kupffer cell mitochondria after 3 to 4 h. The uptake was enhanced in the presence of heparin or rat serum, while iodoacetate, cytochalasin B or anti-fibronectin antisera were inhibitory. The transient presence of enzymatically active hepatocyte mitochondria renders Kupffer cells capable of producing urea. This mechanism partially explains earlier observations of urea formation in non-parenchymal rat liver cells.