Kupffer cells or Browicz-Kupffer cells are specialized macrophages located in the liver that form part of the reticuloendothelial system. The cells were first observed by Johannes von Kupffer in 1876. The scientist called them "sternzellen" (star cells or stellate cells) but thought falsely that they were an integral part of the endothelium of the liver blood vessels and that they originated from it. In 1898, after several years of research, Tadeusz Browicz identified them correctly as macrophages.

Their development begins in the bone marrow with the genesis of promonocytes and monoblasts into monocytes and then on to peripheral blood monocytes completing their differentiation into Kupffer cells.

Helmy et al. identified a receptor present in Kupffer cells, the complement receptor of the immunoglobulin family (CRIg). Mice without CRIg could not clear complement system-coated pathogens. CRIg is conserved in mice and humans and is a critical component of the innate immune system - Cell 124, 915 (2006).

As a result of steady state population dynamics or inflammation it is suggested that M-CSF (Monocyte-colony stimulation factor) is the cytokine responsible for its differentiation (Naito et al 1997).

References

• Haubrich WS. Kupffer of Kupffer cells. Gastroenterology 2004;127:16. PMID 15236167.
• Stachura J, Galazka K. History and current status of Polish gastroenterological pathology. J Physiol Pharmacol. 2003 Dec;54 Suppl 3:183-92. PMID 15075472.
• Szymanska R, Schmidt-Pospula M. Studies of liver's reticuloendothelial cells by Tadeusz Browicz and Karl Kupffer. A historical outline. Arch Hist Med (Warsz). 1979;42(3):331-6. PMID 386989.
• Naito M, Hasegawa G, Takahashi K. Development, differentiation, and maturation of Kupffer cells. Microsc Res Tech 1997;39:350-64. PMID 9407545.

Macrophages | Digestive system | Hepatology | Eponymous anatomical structures

Kupffer-Sternzelle | Cellula di Kupffer | Kupffer hücresi