Hepatocyte

A hepatocyte is the principal functional cell of the liver. It processes nutrients and toxins, produces bile and plasma proteins, and stores energy and vitamins.

Urea cycle: A series of reactions that converts toxic ammonia into urea for excretion. Hepatocytes use this pathway to dispose of ammonia generated during amino-acid breakdown.
Liver lobule: A microscopic structural unit of the liver organized around a central vein and portal triads. Lobules arrange hepatocytes along blood-flow gradients that shape their functions.
Alanine aminotransferase: An enzyme involved in amino-acid metabolism, measured in blood as a marker of liver-cell injury. Damaged hepatocytes release this enzyme, making its blood level clinically useful.
Cirrhosis: Advanced liver scarring that disrupts normal tissue architecture and impairs liver function. Chronic hepatocyte injury and repair can drive the scarring that defines cirrhosis.
Cytochrome P450: A family of enzymes that oxidizes drugs, toxins, and endogenous molecules. These enzymes let hepatocytes transform many compounds for elimination.
Sinusoidal endothelial cell: A specialized, fenestrated endothelial cell lining liver sinusoids. Its porous barrier allows hepatocytes to exchange substances with blood plasma.
Hepatocellular carcinoma: A primary liver cancer arising from hepatocytes. This cancer develops from the cell type that makes up most liver tissue.
Hepatic encephalopathy: A disturbance of brain function associated with liver failure or portosystemic shunting. Impaired hepatocyte detoxification contributes to substances that affect brain function.
Bile acid: A cholesterol-derived molecule that aids fat digestion and absorption and participates in signaling. Hepatocytes synthesize bile acids and secrete them into bile.
Kupffer cell: A resident macrophage of the liver that removes microbes and debris from blood. Kupffer cells share the sinusoidal environment and influence hepatocyte inflammation and repair.

Linked from 17 pages