The Hemopoietic Microenvironment in the Fetal Liver of Mice: Relationship between Developing Hepatocytes and Erythroblasts

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Abstract
Morphology and cytoarchitecture of hepatocytes in relation to hemopoietic cells were studied in the fetal liver of mice. At 13 days gestation, hepatocytes in stellate shape associated closely to hemopoietic cells to form rosettes and occasionally these hepatocytes phagocytized degenerating cells. These observations Indicate that hepatocytes in the early gestational period serve as the stromal nursing cells for the hemopoiesis. The rosettes gradually disappeared and hepatocytes were segregated from hemopoietic cells as the gestational age advanced. The formation of bile canaliculi and hepatic sinusoids, and the storage of glycogen particles in the cytoplasm occurred in the hepatocytes thereafter. Peculiar intercellular bridges were observed between erythroblasts in different developmental stages at 19 days gestation. These bridges were apparently similar to those reported in the spermatogenic cells. The hemopoietic microenvironments in the fetal liver of mice were compared with stromal elements of bone marrow.