Your New Hepatocyte Partner
Ready-to-screen and validated Human primary Hepatocytes, Stellate cells, Kupffer cells, and more.
Pre-tested, Cryopreserved, and Ready-to-Screen Human Primary Liver Cells
We now offer a wide range of cryopreserved, ready-to-screen normal human primary liver cells. Our extensive range of primary human hepatocytes includes suspension hepatocytes from single and pooled donors, as well as plateable hepatocytes and spheroid-qualified hepatocytes for 3D cell culture applications. Our pooled suspension hepatocytes are normalized for cell number to ensure that each donor contributes an equal contribution to the pool.
Additionally, we offer various other liver cells including Stellate cells, Kupffer cells, Cholangiocytes, and Sinusoidal Endothelial cells. Our primary liver cells are assessed for yield, viability, and morphology and are characterized by attachment, surface/internal marker expression, and other cell-specific methods.
Figure 1.Stellate cells after 4 days, imaged with the Millicell® DCI Digital Cell Imager at 10x magnification setting. The cells display an elongated shape characteristic to Stellate cells.
Our collection of liver primary cells is directly harvested from whole human livers and can be used to model the physiology and function of livers in vitro. The portfolio includes primary human Hepatocytes, Stellate cells, Kupffer cells, Cholangiocytes, and Sinusoidal endothelial cells. Our liver primary cell collection has high post‐thaw viability and yield, as well as the following key advantages:
- Increased reproducibility – we provide large lot sizes of the same donor so they can be used for long-term studies.
- Cells are cryopreserved – increasing the ease of use.
- Extensive characterization – marker expression, induction and metabolic assays, morphology and attachment.
- Multi-parameter donor demographics and lot specific orders.
- Full documentation - cells are ethically sourced to ensure full regulatory compliance.
What human liver cells are offered? Are they ethically collected? Are they screened? Get answers to these questions and more with our Hepatocytes frequently asked questions technical article.
Figure 2.Overnight incubation of primary hepatocytes imaged at 20x magnification with Millicell® DCI Digital Cell Imager.
Primary human hepatocytes are cells directly harvested from human livers and are used by researchers in vitro to model the physiology and function of hepatocytes. These primary cells are crucial tools for studying enzyme induction, toxicity, drug screening, transporter efflux activity, potential drug-drug interactions, and disease modeling.
Our extensive collection of primary liver cells includes primary suspension hepatocytes and plateable hepatocytes. Our plateable hepatocyte collection consists of a homogenous population of hepatocytes, with the option for plateable hepatocytes verified for small-volume experiments (96-well plate). Additionally, our suspension hepatocytes are available in two options: single donor with different pack sizes and mixed gender pooled of 10-20 donors, helping to provide flexibility to suit your specific needs.
Figure 4.Spheroid-qualified primary hepatocytes cultured using 3D methods after 8 days of culturing. Image was taken using Millicell® Digital Cell Imager at 10x magnification.
Culturing cells in three-dimensions often requires scaffolds such as hydrogels or plate coatings using extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. The most abundant mammalian protein, collagen, is a main structural component of the ECM and is often used by researchers to coat culture dishes for two- and three-dimensional in vitro culture.
Our suspension and plateable hepatocytes are ideal for performing traditional two-dimensional cell culture experiments. For researchers looking for more relevant models for cell culture applications, we also offer spheroid-qualified hepatocytes. These cells are validated for 3D cell culture applications such as toxicity and toxicology studies, disease progression assays, and cell-based metabolic assays.
Figure 3.Representative microscopy images of Kupffer cell in culture after 48 hours.
Our collection of liver primary cells is directly harvested from whole human livers and can be used to model the physiology and function of livers in vitro. Our wide range of other liver cells includes Cholangiocytes, Sinusoidal Endothelial cells, Stellate cells, and Kupffer cells.
We also offer matched sets of Cholangiocytes, Stellate, and Kupffer cells from the same donor as Hepatocytes, and in certain cases to the matched PBMCs. Researchers can use these cells individually or in co-culture systems to better simulate the complex microenvironment of the liver and gain insights into various liver-related diseases and conditions.
Related Resources
- Primary Human Hepatocytes Culture Protocol
Discover our primary human hepatocytes and plating and maintenance media formulations. Explore our protocol for plateable primary hepatocyte cell culture.
- Primary Human Suspension Hepatocytes Culture Protocol
Explore our protocol for suspension primary hepatocyte cell culture. Discover our primary human hepatocytes and plating and maintenance media formulations.
- Primary Human Spheroid-Qualified Plateable Hepatocyte Culture Protocol
Discover our protocol for thawing, plating, and forming hepatocyte spheroids from human spheroid-qualified plateable hepatocytes. Find the formulation for hepatocyte spheroid maintenance media.
- Primary Human Intrahepatic Biliary Epithelial Cells (Cholangiocytes) Culture Protocol
Discover our primary human intrahepatic biliary epithelial cells, also known as cholangiocytes. Explore our plating and maintenance media formulations and protocol for culture.
- Primary Human Hepatic Kupffer Cell Culture Protocol
Discover our collection of primary human hepatic Kupffer cells and protocol for thawing, plating, and growing Kupffer cells. Find the formulation for Kupffer culture maintenance media.
- Primary Human Hepatic Sinusoidal Endothelial Cells Culture Protocol
Discover our collection of primary human hepatic sinusoidal endothelial cells, a protocol for thawing, plating, and growing HHSECs, and a recipe for our HHSEC maintenance media formulation.
- Fetal Bovine Serum for Specialty Cell Culture
Specialty cell culture requires fetal bovine serum (FBS) with rigorous testing and pre-qualification. Learn more about our FBS Select products for stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, cardiomyocyte culture, and more.
- Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF)
Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a potent mitogen for hepatocytes and a variety of other cells, including endothelial and epithelial cells, melanocytes, and keratinocytes.
- The Role of Liver Transporters in Drug-Drug Interactions
Oral drug delivery involves dissolution in the small intestine and absorption across the enterocyte barrier into the portal vein followed by subsequent delivery through the liver into the systemic circulation.
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