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Properties of Kupffer Cells

  • Chapter
Mononuclear Phagocytes

Abstract

It is not clear whether Carl Wilhelm von Kupffer was the first to describe the cell type that now bears his name. Nor is it easy to decide what von Kupffer’s star cells ‘Sternzellen’, correspond to in today’s concepts. An excellent account of the old literature is given by Aterman (1963). Most of this material is now mainly of historical interest and has little influence on current scientific nomenclature. As usual in the biological sciences, the notion Kupffer cell has acquired its meaning not by definition but by common usage and assumed agreement. I think it is in accordance with this common usage to define the Kupffer cell as the phagocyte of the liver sinusoidal wall. From this definition it follows that all discussion on the distinction of Kupffer cells from other cell types and of the histogenesis or kinetics of Kupffer cells must start by taking phagocytosis as the central criterion. It is meaningless to discuss questions like these on the basis of other, secondary morphological, cytochemical, or biochemical criteria, without checking all important points against the decisive criterion phagocytosis.

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Authors
  1. R. Seljelid
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  2. Dorothy F. Bainton
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  3. Elisabeth Ch. M. Hoefsmit
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Infectious Diseases, University Hospital, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Ralph van Furth

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Seljelid, R., Bainton, D.F., Hoefsmit, E.C.M. (1980). Properties of Kupffer Cells. In: van Furth, R. (eds) Mononuclear Phagocytes. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-8793-7_6

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