The distribution of enzyme and isoenzyme activities between parenchymal and haematopoietic cells in the liver of the foetal guinea pig

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Abstract
The hepatocyte and hematopoietic cell contents of the liver of the fetal guinea pig were measured over the latter half of gestation. Hepatocytes represented about 30% of liver volume at mid-gestation and this increased to 70-80% by term. Cell volume remained constant until 5-7 days before term, then more than doubled. Hematopoietic cells represented about 5% of liver volume at mid-gestation and this progressively fell to < 1% by term. At 75% of gestation hepatocytes and hematopoietic cells were prepared from perfused fetal livers by collagenase digestion. Enzyme activity of the hepatocyte was, without exception, similar to that of the whole liver. In general, enzyme activity in the hematopoietic cells was similar to that in erythrocytes, with relatively low values for aldolase, glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphoglycerate mutase, enolase, lactate dehydrogenase, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase, isocitrate dehydrogenase, malic enzyme, glutamate dehydrogenase and aspartate aminotransferase. The hematopoietic cell contribution to total enzyme activity in the fetal liver was usually much less than 10% and could thus not account for the major changes in hepatic enzyme activity over the latter half of gestation. Hepatocytes contained hexokinase isoenzymes I and III, aldolase isoenzymes A and B and pyruvate kinase isoenzymes 1, 2 and 4. The hematopoietic cells contained hexokinase isoenzyme I and 2 additional bands of activity with slightly greater mobility, aldolase isoenzyme A and pyruvate kinase isoenzymes 2 and 4.