Isolation and purification of rat liver Kupffer cells by centrifugal elutriation

Objective To isolate and purify rat liver Kupffer cell enriched fractions from nonparenchymal cells suspension by centrifugal elutriation technique.Methods The techniques included: ① liver perfusion in situ, ② preparation of nonparenchymal cells suspension, ③ centrifugal elutriation, ④ primary culture.Results By the processing of collagenase and protease digestion, nycodenz separation and centrifugal elutriation, Kupffer cells were obtained in the amount of 28±6×10 6/rat liver, the purity was 95% and more than 90% of cells were viable.Conclusion Rat Kupffer cells can be isolated and purified effectively by centrifugal elutriation. A pure and viable Kupffer cells population can be provided for further study in vitro.