Human hepatocyte cultures: a model of pharmaco-toxicological studies.

Viable adult human hepatocytes were obtained in large yields by perfusion of the liver of kidney donors. The hepatocytes were cultured either alone or in association with rat-liver epithelial cells. In pure culture the survival of hepatocytes did not exceed two to three weeks, while in co-culture they survived for several weeks and better retained the specific liver functions of albumin secretion, cytochrome P-450 content and glucuronidation of drugs. Human hepatocytes, particularly when mixed with rat-liver epithelial cells, may provide a valuable tool for predicting the metabolic pathways and hepatotoxicity of new drugs in man.