Hepatocytes

Hepatocytes account for approximately 80% of the liver mass and play a significant role in various aspects of liver physiopathology, exhibiting unrivaled complexity and diversity of functions. In Hepatocytes: Methods and Protocols, expert researchers provide the reader with methods, technical protocols, and review chapters focusing on selected areas of hepatocyte biology including isolation, culture, differentiation and stem cells, and hepatocyte use in clinical, basic, and applied research. With a specific emphasis on human hepatocytes, the volume presents chapters covering subjects including hepatocyte culture models, cryopreservation methods, differentiation assessment, liver ontogenesis, production of hepatocytes from stem cells, drug/xenobiotic metabolism, toxicity and transport, bile acid and blood coagulation factor production, infection by HBV and HCV, humanized animals, biortificial liver devices, hepatocyte transplantation. As a volume in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology™ series, protocol chapters include brief introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.

Comprehensive and cutting-edge, Hepatocytes: Methods and Protocols will be useful to all those who are currently using or planning to use human, or animal, hepatocytes to investigate any aspect of liver physiopathology or who are interested in liver development or liver stem cells and liver biotherapy.

• Cryopreservation
• Detoxication
• Drug/xenobiotic metabolism and transport
• Isolation, culture, and differentiation
• Liver physiopathology
• Stem cells
• Transplantation
• cell biology
• cells
• tissue
• hepatology

From the reviews:

“Hepatocytes presents a well matched mix of theory and practice. … A very welcome general theme throughout the book are the detailed practical aspects. Some chapters might almost be training manuals in this respect. … I found the book very hard to criticise To me, it was the ideal textbook … . Moreover each chapter was written by contributors that dripped with experience. … the quality of the text is so outstanding.” (Graham Lappin, BTS Newsletter, Issue 37, Winter, 2010)

“Eighty authors have collaborated to construct 29 chapters … . the quality of the paper, the layout and print size, and the overall construction of the book are excellent. The 553 pages are abundantly illustrated and annotated with 1591 references followed by a 19-page index … . The work is a worthy and elegant addition to their ‘Methods in Molecular Biology’ series and would be equally at home, and useful, around the laboratory, on the office shelf or in a reference library.” (S. C. Mitchell, ISSX Newsletter, February, 2011)

• INSERM U632, Labo. Physiopathologie Hépatique, Université Montpellier I, Montpellier, France

  Patrick Maurel

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