During the past funding period, the Cell Culture Core has continued to provide isolation of mouse and rat hepatocytes from normal and diseased livers, cell line banking, and distribution of human hepatocytes. A separately funded (through NIAAA beginning in mid-2001) Non-parenchymal Liver Cell Core provides freshly isolated and cultured normal or diseased rat Kupffer cells, hepatic stellate cells, and sinusoidal endothelial cells. Effective 9/1/04, the Cell Culture Core stopped preparing human hepatocytes but instead distributes human hepatocytes prepared by a commercial source (CellzDirect, Tucson, Az). This is because an agreement was made between the USC liver surgeons and CellzDirect, which supports the liver tissue repository at USC and provides human hepatocytes free of charge to Liver Center investigators. The Cell Culture Core has continued to provide a vital service to the Center members and has remained near steady state from the previoijs to the current grant cycle in terms of usage (number of preps, investigators and grants) and productivity (number of publications). Sixteen members and affiliated members used the Cell Culture Core from 1998 to 2003 with 47 publications. In the current cycle, 2003 to 2008, 18 full members used the Core and generated 50 publications. In particular, the Cell Culture Core has been instrumental in assisting young investigators in establishing their independent research programs (e.g. H.P. Yang, D. Han, C. Ji and Z.X. Liu).
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