Isolation and long-term maintenance of differentiated adult chicken hepatocytes in primary culture.

Adult chicken hepatocytes were obtained by an adaptation of the two step in situ collagenase perfusion. Usually 0.5 to 1 x 10(9) cells were obtained, with 75 to 95% viability. Hepatocytes attached within 2 h when plated on plastic cell culture dishes and spread in 4 h, surviving for several months in a specific serum-free medium. These cells retained a typical parenchymal cell morphology and the ability to produce a specific protein (albumin) throughout the culture period. We hereby provide a suitable model for studying hepatic metabolism in birds.