INTRACELLULAR-TRANSPORT OF SMALL HYDROPHOBIC COMPOUNDS BY THE HEPATOCYTE

The liver is responsible for the detoxification and biliary excretion of a variety of endogenous and xenobiotic compounds and therefore, is capable of responding to rapid fluctuations in metabolic demand. In or der to accomplish this function, the hepatocyte must efficiently trans port a host of substrates with wide-ranging physical-chemical properti es to intracellular sites for biotransformation and subsequent secreti on into the bile. The trafficking of substrates and metabolites within the liver cell is a complex process, involving the coordinated action of cellular proteins, organellar membranes, the cytoskeleton, vesicul ar transport pathways, and bulk convective cytoplasmic flow. This revi ew summarizes recent developments in the field of intracellular transp ort, with particular reference to the metabolism of small hydrophobic and amphipathic molecular species (e.g., bilirubin, bile salts, fatty acids) by the hepatocyte.