Preparation of equine isolated hepatocytes.

In this study a detailed description of the equine hepatocyte isolation procedure is presented. Livers were obtained from horses slaughtered at the local slaughterhouse. For blood removal and liver preservation the following steps are suggested: perfusion with the oxygenated HBSS (0-2 degrees C, with continuous flow of 500-800 ml/min for 3-6 min), protection from ischemia injury by flushing with ice-cold University of Wisconsin Solution (UW, flow rate of 500-800 ml/min), and finally immersion of the liver lobe in UW solution (2 degrees C) during its transport to the laboratory. For equine isolated hepatocyte preparation a "three-step" perfusion procedure was elaborated: rewarming, chelating and collagenase perfusion. We found optimal cell yield and viability under the following conditions: rewarming with UW (38 degrees C) for 8-14 min, chelating with calcium free Hanks' Balanced Salt Solution (HBSS, 38 degrees C) supplemented with 1 mM ethylene glycol-bis[beta-aminoethyl esther]-N,N,N'N'-tetracetic acid at the flow rate of 450 ml/min for 6 min and enzymatic digestion with HBSS supplemented with 0.1% collagenase at 38 degrees C and 450 ml/min flow rate for 8-27 min. These conditions consistently generated cell harvests of 21 x 10(6)+/-4.86 cells/g of perfused liver tissue with viability of 82.7%+/-10.2.