Scavenger endothelial cells of vertebrates: A nonperipheral leukocyte system for high-capacity elimination of waste macromolecules

Studies over the last two decades have shown that mammalian nonmacrophagic liver endothelial cells clear the blood from numerous physiological and foreign waste macromolecules, such as polysaccharides and proteins released during extracellular matrix turnover, intracellular macromolecules, modified serum proteins, and bacterial and fungal proteins [Smedsrød, B., Pertoft, H., Gustafson, S. heart or kidney in Osteichtyes; and liver in Amphibia, Reptilia, Aves, and Mammalia.