Abstract
The liver is the main retinoid-storing organ and 50-80% of retinoid in the body is stored in the stellate cells, also known as fat-storing cells, Ito cells, or lipocyte. However, the mechanisms of specific retinoid accumulation in stellate cells remain to be elucidated. Blomhoff speculated that receptors for RBP exist on the cell surface of stellate cells, and that RBP was specifically taken up by receptor-mediated endocytosis. On the other hand, our data suggested that RBP did not facilitate specific retinol transport into stellate cells, and the specific transport of retinol is likely to be dependent on the intracellular esterification of retinol by LRAT in stellate cells.
