Comparision of Bilirubin Conjugation in Encapsulated Hepatocytes, Hepatocyte Homogenate and Intact Hepatocytes

Homogenized rat hepatocytes, whole hepatocytes and encapsulated hepatocytes were incubated with bilirubin and UDP-glucuronic acid to test their ability to form bilirubin conjugates. Bilirubin monoconjugated and diconjugated were detected in all the three preparations by HPLC analysis. The UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UDPGT) activity of homogenized hepatocytes was 0.002 +/- 0.00006 mM/min per million cells; that of intact hepatocytes was 0.001 +/- 0.00006 mM/min per million cells and that of encapsulated hepatocytes was 0.0005 +/- 0.00002 mM/min per million cells.