CHARACTERIZATION OF SHEEP HEPATOCYTES IN PRIMARY CULTURE

1. Primary cultures of isolated sheep hepatocytes were used to charact erize metabolic functions of liver: gluconeogenesis, ureagenesis and p rotein synthesis. The rates of all three metabolic activities were lin ear over a 20 hr culture period. 2. Hepatocytes in the presence of glu cagon increased the synthesis of urea by approx 30% (P < 0.05) and inc reased release of glucose into the medium by 60% (P < 0.05). 3. In the absence of insulin, significantly more (35%; P < 0.05) glucose was re leased in the medium than in the presence of insulin. 4. Results help evaluate the primary culture of sheep hepatocytes as an appropriate ex perimental model to study nutritional and hormonal regulation of liver in the ruminant species.