Hepatocyte
A hepatocyte is a cell of the main parenchymal tissue of the liver. Hepatocytes make up 70-85% of the liver's mass.
These cells are involved in:
Protein synthesis
Protein storage
Transformation of carbohydrates
Synthesis of cholesterol, bile salts and phospholipids
Detoxification, modification, and excretion of exogenous and endogenous substances
Initiation of formation and secretion of bile
Structure
The typical hepatocyte is cubical with sides of 20-30 µm, (in comparison, a human hair has a diameter of 17 to 180 µm). The typical volume of a hepatocyte is 3.4 x 10−9 cm3.
Smooth endoplasmic reticulum is abundant in hepatocytes, whereas most cells in the body have only small amounts.
Histology
Hepatocytes display an eosinophilic cytoplasm, reflecting numerous mitochondria, and basophilic stippling due to large amounts of rough endoplasmic reticulum and free ribosomes. Brown lipofuscin granules are also observed (with increasing age) together with irregular unstained areas of cytoplasm; these correspond to cytoplasmic glycogen and lipid stores removed during histological preparation. The average life span of the hepatocyte is 5 months; they are able to regenerate.
