Background & Aims Kupffer cells (KCs), the resident tissue macrophages of the liver, play a
crucial role in the clearance of pathogens and other particulate materials that reach the
systemic circulation. Recent studies have identified KCs as a yolk sac-derived resident
macrophage population that is replenished independently of monocytes in the steady state.
Although it is now established that following local tissue injury, bone marrow derived
monocytes may infiltrate the tissue and differentiate into macrophages, the extent to which …