7-Ethoxycoumarin O-deethylation and methylumbelliferone conjugation in isolated fetal and adult bovine hepatocytes.

Hepatocytes were isolated from fetal and adult bovine liver by perfusion of a piece of liver. The yield was 0.3-4.5 and 5.8-44.7 x 10(6) cells/g for adult and fetal liver, respectively. The viability was between 60 and 90%. 7-Ethoxycoumarin O-deethylase activity in adult hepatocytes was about 10 times higher than in fetal hepatocytes. The same was true for the glucuronidation of methylumbelliferone, but sulfate conjugation was fully developed already in fetal cells. The results show that the use of isolated cells can be extended to larger species, which is of value in interspecies studies as well as in finding models for humans.