Kupffer Cells – Hepatic Lobule (Nursing)

00:00 Okay, so which type of cell in the liver is phagocytic? Let's take a look at that. Kupffer cells.

00:09 Now, they have a funny spelling, right, but Kupffer cells are also known as stellate macrophages or Kupffer-Browicz cells. Anyway, no matter what you call them, these are specialized macrophages that are listed in the liver. Now they line the walls of the sinusoids.

00:27 So, look at the picture. You have hepatocytes. Right? We've got that there. You see the sinusoids and then look at the Kupffer cells. So these guys are specialized macrophages and they're part of the mononuclear phagocyte system. That should sound familiar to you, but if it's not, we're going to review that, but first we want you to know the Kupffer cells. Where are they located? Right, lining the walls of the sinusoids. And what system are they a part of? Right, the mononuclear phagocyte system. Good work. So, let's take a look at these guys.

01:03 Now, they're found in the sinusoids in the liver, you already knew that, but they clean out bacteria from the portal blood. Now, remember the portal blood is that blood that's coming back up to the liver. So, you've got these Kupffer cells and then we've put a pathogen up there to kind of be an example of something that we would want to clean out. They also remove worn-out red cells and then recycle hemoglobin. It's a job that the liver shares with the spleen. Now, 80% to 90% of the tissue macrophages in the body are liver Kupffer cells.

01:36 So these are the big guys in your body when it comes to macrophages; 80% to 90% of the tissue ones are the Kupffer cells in your liver. So we need these guys for both innate and adaptive immunity and part of the mononuclear phagocytic system. So these are heroes.

01:55 Kupffer cells, make sure you're clear on where they're located and what they do, and the percentage of them is located in our liver. Now, why do we call them Kupffer cells? You may or may not have wondered that. We call them that because that's the name of the gentleman who discovered them.