The role of Kupffer cells in glucan-induced granuloma formation in the liver of mice depleted of blood monocytes by administration of strontium-89.

In order to elucidate the role of Kupffer cells in granuloma formation in the liver of mice under a condition of severe monocytopenia induced by administration of strontium-89, granulomas were produced by particulate glucan injection and examined histopathologically, immunohistochemically, by [3H]thymidine autoradiography, and in culture experiments. Hepatic granulomas were smaller, less numerous, and more irregularly shaped in the monocytopenic mice than in the control mice. The granulomas were composed of multinuclear giant cells, epithelioid cells, Kupffer cells, and T lymphocytes, but not monocytes or granulocytes. Kupffer cells were heavily labeled with [3H]thymidine in the monocytopenic mice, particularly just before the stage of granuloma formation, and then clustered in the liver sinusoids. At 8 days, they formed granulomas, transformed into epithelioid cells, and transformed further into multinuclear giant cells. Although the culture of liver cell suspensions prepared from the livers of monocytopenic mice sustained diffuse proliferation of macrophages on a monolayer of mouse stromal cell line (ST2), no monocyte/macrophage colonies were formed. From these results, it is reasonable to conclude that Kupffer cells alone are activated in a condition without a supply of monocytes from peripheral blood; proliferate and cluster in the hepatic sinusoids; transform into peroxidase-negative macrophages, epithelioid cells, and multinuclear giant cells; and participate in granuloma formation in loco together with T lymphocytes.