Effects of basement membrane matrix on the culture of fetal mouse hepatocytes.

The effects of laminin, fibronectin and type IV collagen, all of which are major matrix components of the basement membrane, upon fetal mouse hepatocyte culture were studied. Among these matrices, laminin showed the greatest effect on DNA synthesis, cell proliferation, the secretion of alpha-fetoprotein and cell attachment. The effects of fibronectin and type IV collagen were slight with regard to the promotion of growth and cell attachment. However, there were no differences in the secretion of albumin into the media among the groups. These results suggest that laminin may be necessary for the cellular growth and functional maintenance of immature liver cells during normal development of the liver in vivo.