[One hundred years of sinusoidal cells in the liver]

Kupffer (1898) reported that the stellate cells were phagocytic endothelial cells, retracting his earlier view that these cells were perivascular cells. His new concept stimulated studies on the vital staining and the RES theory, while it ensued several controversies in liver histology. The original stellate cells were rediscovered in 1971, and were proved to be identical with several perisinusoidal cells reported previously. For this cell the term hepatic stellate cell has recently been adopted as the standardized name. The space of Disse is newly defined as the space between the endothelial cell-stellate cell complex and the parenchymal cells. The stellate cells display vitamin A-storage, collagen synthesis and may contract to regulate the sinusoidal blood flow and the fluid-exchange between the sinusoidal lumen and the space of Disse. The sinusoidal endothelial cells uptake injected lithium carmine and macromolecules by coated vesicles. Kupffer cells clear endotoxin, bacteria and apoptotic neutrophils and release various cytokines. The pit cells are the liver-associated NK cells and are activated by the administration of biological response modifiers, preventing tumor metastasis. Extrathymic pathways of T cell differentiation exist in the hepatic sinusoid. The dendritic cells differentiate in the sinusoid and translocate to the Glisson's sheath. Intralobular heterogeneity of sinusoidal cells have been observed. The sinusoidal cells communicate each other with autocrine and paracrine mechanisms to regulate various functions of the liver.