Recent Publications

Published papers involving the primary hepatocyte system detailed on this website, as well as ancillary methods, are listed below. The citation details link to the full text. Below the full citation is a PubMed link, followed by a link to the text citation for use in EndNote or Reference Manager, and finally a brief description of the methods utilized within the respective paper.

Note: citations are provided in text format, and will open as a text file if left clicked. Right click and save using default options; if the ".ris" extension is not preserved by default (this depends on your operating system), simply rename the ".txt" extension to ".ris" for direct import into EndNote/Reference Manager. Alternatively, import the plain text citation by following steps 5-8 from the Endnote FAQ.

Due to the relatively recent publication dates of these references, I am unable to provide full text PDFs for direct download. Please contact me if you require access to full text papers, and I would be happy to correspond with the appropriate parties. References with free full text access are noted.

References are listed in reverse chronological order.

PCB 126 and Other Dioxin-Like PCBs Specifically Suppress Hepatic PEPCK Expression via the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor
2012: Zhang, W., Sargis, R.M., Volden, P.A., Carmean, C.M., Sun, X.J., and Brady, M.J. PLoS One. (Free full text available)
PMID: 22615911 | Citation (RIS)
Comprehensive application of methods for primary hepatocyte isolation, glycogen, gluconeogenesis, beta-oxidation, lipogenesis, EROD, qRT-PCR, LDH, and total intracellular ATP.

BNip3 regulates mitochondrial function and lipid metabolism in the liver
2012: Glick, D., Zhang, W., Beaton, M., Marsboom, G., Gruber, M., Simon, M.C., Hart, J., Dorn, G.W., 2nd, Brady, M.J., and Macleod, K.F. Mol Cell Biol
PMID: 22547685 | Citation to be updated upon official publication
Isolation of primary hepatocytes (dual isolations) from WT and paired TG mice, with emphasis on beta oxidation, oil red O staining, total intracellular ATP, and cellular respiration data from the Seahore XF-24 ECF analyzer. Also some frozen (whole) liver glycogen measurements from fed and fasted livers from WT and TG mice.

Targeted expression of human vitamin D receptor in adipocytes decreases energy expenditure and induces obesity in mice
2011: Wong, K.E., Kong, J., Zhang, W., Szeto, F.L., Ye, H., Deb, D.K., Brady, M.J., and Li, Y.C. J Biol Chem
PMID: 21840998 | Citation (RIS)
Application of the beta oxidation assay in primary white and brown adipose tissue (WAT and BAT, respectively) in WT and TG mice. No hepatocyte work in this paper, but useful guidance for adapting the beta oxidation method to tissues with lower beta oxidation capacity (WAT), and some interesting differences in the rate of long-chain fatty acid (palmitate) beta oxidation in BAT vs. WAT.

Glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta mediates high glucose-induced ubiquitination and proteasome degradation of insulin receptor substrate 1
2010: Leng, S., Zhang, W., Zheng, Y., Liberman, Z., Rhodes, C.J., Eldar-Finkelman, H., and Sun, X.J. J Endocrinol (Free full text available)
PMID: 20466847 | Citation (RIS)
Immunoblotting for insulin signaling proteins (phosphorylated and total) in primary mouse (WT) hepatocytes. Somewhat unique since this paper uses cells incubated in 10% serum overnight, followed by short-term insulin stimulation to study phosphorylation of IRS and downstream signaling molecules.

Involvement of the vitamin D receptor in energy metabolism: regulation of uncoupling proteins
2009: Wong, K.E., Szeto, F.L., Zhang, W., Ye, H., Kong, J., Zhang, Z., Sun, X.J., and Li, Y.C. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab (Free full text available)
PMID: 19176352 | Citation (RIS)
Another non-hepatocyte citation. This was the first published paper using the beta oxidation method adapted from primary hepatocytes to primary adipose tissue.

Dephosphorylation by default, a potential mechanism for regulation of insulin receptor substrate-1/2, Akt, and ERK1/2
2006: Zhande, R., Zhang, W., Zheng, Y., Pendleton, E., Li, Y., Polakiewicz, R.D., and Sun, X.J. J Biol Chem (Free full text available)
PMID: 17068339 | Citation (RIS)
The very first published paper using an earlier version of the hepatocyte system to study a rather interesting dephosphorylation mechanism. At the time, the isolation and culture methods were relatively unrefined, but the cells were still effective for signaling. I stopped O2 gassing of perfusion media not long after this paper was published, as empirical testing showed no observable differences with or without oxygenation. Different enzyme (Blendzyme III-- not recommended), lower flow rate, fanicer media concotions, etc. This paper is more interesting as a historical reference in terms of the isolation methods, but the science is sound.


Pioneering publications

Below are some of the key papers that provided the majority of the framework for the primary mouse hepatocyte isolation protocol detailed on this website. Full text PDFs are provided due to the age of these papers, and the relative difficulty of finding the full text. The work of the pioneers in this field, particularly that of Dr. J.E. Klaunig (for his beautifully detailed methods on mouse hepatocyte preparation and culture), remains as relevant today as it was decades ago.

To download all publications right-click on the link below and choose "Save Link As..." to save the video to your computer.

1967 The Enzymatic Preparation of Isolated Paranchymal Cells from Rat Liver

1969 High-yield Preparation of Isolated Rat Liver Parenchymal Cells

1981 Mouse Liver Cell Culture I Hepatocyte Isolation In Vitro

1981 Mouse Liver Cell Culture II Primary Culture In Vitro