Receptor for Albumin on the Liver Cell Surface May Mediate Uptake of Fatty Acids and Other Albumin-Bound Substances

Kinetic analysis of the uptake of carbon-14-labeled oleate in a single-pass perfusion of rat liver and saturable and specific binding of iodine-125-labeled albumin to hepatocytes in suspension suggest the existence of a receptor for albumin on the liver cell surface. The putative receptor appears to mediate uptake of albumin-bound fatty acids by the cell and may account for the efficient hepatic extraction of many other substances tightly bound to albumin.