Hepatocytes

This volume offers laboratory protocols for studying how hepatocytes are built and how they function, both inside living organisms and in culture. It also covers ways to examine how these cells differ from one another and how they change their roles in healthy livers and in injured ones.

The chapters explain how to separate hepatocyte subpopulations and characterize their diversity, along with newer culture systems and the generation of hepatocyte-like cells from human pluripotent stem cells. Other topics include analyzing drug metabolism, tracking protein sorting, manipulating gene expression, expanding primary hepatoblastoma cells, and identifying subtypes of hepatocellular carcinoma.

The book follows the format of the Methods in Molecular Biology series. Each chapter opens with an introduction, lists the required materials and reagents, offers troubleshooting advice and notes on common pitfalls, and provides step-by-step procedures designed to be easy to reproduce.

The aim is to help researchers understand the molecular mechanisms that regulate hepatocyte functions and the liver diseases that arise when those functions break down.