A simplified method for the culturing of primary adult rat and human hepatocytes as multicellular spheroids.

A simple and highly reproducible method was established for the culturing of adult rat and human hepatocytes as multicellular aggregates (spheroids). Purified rat and human liver parenchymal cells were cultured on nontissue culture (bacteriological) polystyrene petri dishes on a rotating platform. After an overnight incubation, the cells were found to form multicellular aggregates. The aggregates became spheroidal in shape after several days in culture. Histological sections of the spheroids showed an organized structure consisting of squamated cells on the outermost layer and cuboidal cells in the interior. Cellular structures characteristic of hepatocytes in the liver in vivo including bile canaliculi, peroxisomes, Golgi bodies, abundant mitochondria, and rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum were observed with electron microscopy. The spheroids were found to be viable up to the longest time studied of approx. 1 month in culture as demonstrated by their adherence and growth on collagen-coated substratum. The morphological resemblance between hepatocytes cultured as spheroids and the liver in vivo suggests that the spheroids may be a useful in vitro experimental model of the liver. Our simple method should allow hepatocytes to be cultured as spheroids easily in any laboratory equipped for cell culture. Our study here also is the first to report the culturing of human hepatocytes as spheroids.