Fish Hepatocytes: A Model Metabolic System

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Abstract
The hepatocyte or liver cell preparation is a standard metabolic model in mammalian physiology/biochemistry. This paper presents a basic method for the isolation of viable fish hepatocytes, reviews specifically the literature available on hepatic function and adaptation using the preparation, and examines those areas where this preparation could contribute to our understanding of basic and applied fisheries biology. Viable liver cells are prepared by collagenase perfusion and collected by low-speed centrifugation. Buffered salines employed for cell isolation must be consistent with the normal plasma constituents of the species. Recent studies have established that a variety of fish hepatocytes remain metabolically active in suspension and perform a variety of anabolic tasks, including gluconeogenesis, lipogenesis, ketogenesis, sterol biosynthesis, synthesis of export and mitochondrial proteins, and nucleic acid biosynthesis. New techniques, including cell culture, will provide biologists with a tool to study the more long-term effects of hormones, xenobiotics, and micronutrient requirements under controlled laboratory conditions. The use of fish hepatocytes to reduce the necessity of whole animal models in pharmacological and toxicological studies is particularly promising. The fish hepatocyte preparation represents an important tool to further our understanding of the role of the liver in the biology of fish species.