Research on Hepatocytes

Students focus their research efforts on lipid metabolism in hepatocytes. The liver is the primary site for triglyceride absorption, metabolism, and redistribution; most of this is done by the hepatocytes. HepG2 cells are a widely used model for cellular function in the liver. Our studies focus on the effects of pharmacological agents (such as Exendin-4 and Atorvastatin) on triglyceride accumulation and release using HepG2 cells cultured in steatotic media.

This work was pioneered by Alice Chen-Liaw (below, left). We published a paper on the effects of Protein Kinase A and Exendin-4 on triglyceride accumulation in HepG2 (authored by Alice and Gabrielle Hammel, below right).