Isolated hepatocytes: use in experimental and clinical hepatology.

It is now over 25 years since Howard and Pesch first used collagenase to disaggregate adult liver tissue, with the resultant successful isolation of viable and functional hepatocytes.' Before that, numerous mechanical and enzymatic ways of disrupting liver tissue had been used, with a limited degree of success only. Alternatives such as the use of tissue slices or explant organ cultures were also unsatisfactory and of only limited use. Then Berry and Friend introduced a major development when they described the first liver perfusion procedure.2 This led to a considerably improved viability of hepatocytes and a yield that was estimated to comprise up to 50% of the original tissue.