Hepatic stellate cells are an important cellular site for β-carotene conversion to retinoid.

ABSTRACT: Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are responsible for storing 90-95% of the retinoid present in the liver. These cells have been reported in the literature also to accumulate dietary β-carotene, but the ability of HSCs to metabolize β-carotene in situ has not been explored. To gain understanding of this, we investigated whether β-carotene-15,15'-monooxygenase (Bcmo1) and β-carotene-9',10'-monooxygenase (Bcmo2) are expressed in HSCs. Using primary HSCs and hepatocytes purified from wild type and Bcmo1-deficient mice, we establish that Bcmo1 is highly expressed in HSCs; whereas Bcmo2 is expressed primarily in hepatocytes. We also confirmed that HSCs are an important cellular site within the liver for accumulation of dietary β-carotene. Bcmo2 expression was found to be significantly elevated for

SUBMITTER: Shmarakov I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3692274 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature