Abstract: Objective To compare the morphological differences between Kupffer cells which were isolated
from Colgalt2 gene knockout mice and wild mice in primary culture. Methods Kupffer cells were isolated by
perfusion of collagenase, density gradient centrifugation and immunomagnetic method. The morphology of the
cells were observed by microscope. The subtypes of the Kupffer cells were detected at 6 h, 12 h and 24 h after
incubated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Results The average cell yield per mice liver was (4.42 ± 0.63) × 10 6 .
The purity of Kupffer cells was 97.9%. The cultured Kupffer cells exhibited irregular shape, in the early stages,
the morphology of Kupffer cells isolated from Colgalt2 gene knockout mice exhibited later differentiation
than wild mice, but in the later stages, it showed no difference. Under normal circumstances, the proportion of
M2a Kupffer cells in Colgalt2 -/- mice were higher than that in Colgalt2 +/+ mice; the proportion of M2a Kupffer
cells in Colgalt2 -/- mice were significantly higher at 6 hours after incubated with LPS; the proportion of M2a
and M2c Kupffer cells in Colgalt2 +/+ mice decreased significantly than those in Colgalt2 -/- mice after 12 houres.
After 24 hours, the M2c subtypes of Kupffer cells in Colgalt2 -/- mice were significantly higher than those in
Colgalt2 +/+ mice. Conclusions Higher purity of Kupffer cells were gained by perfusion of collagenase, density
gradient centrifugation and immunomagnetic method. The Colgalt2 is involved in the morphology and the
differentiation of Kupffer cells .