{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.03454715219421102, 'fraction_numerical': 0.0196078431372549, 'mean_word_length': 6.052631578947368, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
A new three‐dimensional culture system for hepatocytes using reticulated polyurethane

Poly‐N‐para‐vinylbenzyl‐lactonamide (PVLA)‐coated reticulated polyurethane (PVLA‐RPU) has been employed for the long‐term maintenance of primary rat hepatocyte cultures. After 3 days of incubation of 2 × 107 hepatocytes/cm3 embedded in PVLA‐RPU discs and kept in culture medium, most cells showed typical hepatocyte morphology, with some bile canaliculus‐like intercellular spaces among the hepatocytes on examination with scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The cells were attached to the surface of the PVLA‐RPU and formed multicellular spheroids in the reticulated pores. The hepatocytes maintained various liver‐specific functions such as albumin secretion, ammonium metabolism, urea synthesis and gluconeogenesis, and they were viable. The liver‐specific functions could be maintained for more than 1 month when the cells were kept in the rats' peritoneal cavities. This new system may be useful as a bioreactor for an artificial liver. (HEPATOLOGY 1994;19:1023–1028.)