Video Transcript
Liver cells are also called hepatocytes. Which of the following best describes the characteristics of normal hepatocytes? (A) Normal hepatocytes have multiple nuclei and a thick cell membrane. (B) Normal hepatocytes have a large nucleus, a prominent endoplasmic reticulum, and
many mitochondria. (C) Normal hepatocytes have a large reserve of fat within the cell and many
ribosomes. Or (D) normal hepatocytes are long and cylindrical and contain many chloroplasts.
This question asks us about some key features of hepatocytes, which are the cells of
the liver. The prefix hepat- comes from the Greek word which means liver, and the suffix -cyte
means cell. Hepatocytes make up around 80 percent of the total mass of the liver. Let’s review the key characteristics of these cells that make them different from
other typical body cells.
Can you remember what some of the main functions of the liver are? The liver helps to neutralize harmful compounds through a process called
detoxification and then plays a role in the excretion of these substances to
eventually remove them from the body. As the hepatocytes are very active cells, partly due to their detoxification of many
harmful compounds, they utilize a lot of energy. In fact, hepatocytes use up approximately 20 percent of all of the energy in the
body. Since hepatocytes require large amounts of energy, they possess many organelles
responsible for releasing energy in cells through cellular respiration. These organelles are the mitochondria.
Most hepatocytes have a large, central nucleus. Interestingly, some hepatocytes will even have more than one nucleus, which means
that those hepatocytes will actually have more chromosomes than usual. Some scientists propose that this is because hepatocytes are constantly interacting
with and detoxifying damaging substances. So having more copies of their genetic information can help prevent DNA damage and
cell death.
Normal hepatocytes also tend to have a prominent endoplasmic reticulum. Having more gene copies to code for protein synthesis and a prominent endoplasmic
reticulum to synthesize them means that these hepatocytes can produce more copies of
the enzymes responsible for detoxification. This also allows them to synthesize more proteins and lipids to be transported to
other cells, another important metabolic function of the liver.
This question asks us to discern the statement that best describes the
characteristics of normal hepatocytes. And using the information we have learned, we can answer it correctly. The correct answer is (B). Normal hepatocytes have a large nucleus, a prominent endoplasmic reticulum, and many
mitochondria.
