Tucked into the liver are star-shaped cells with long arms. Hepatic stellate cells keep a store of vitamin A, and they help patch up the liver when it gets hurt.
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Your liver is packed with big liver cells and tiny blood channels. Hepatic stellate cells live in the thin gap between them.
Stellate means star-shaped. These cells have long, thin arms that wrap around the blood channels. Inside they hold little yellow drops of fat filled with vitamin A.
Most of the vitamin A in your body is stored in your liver, and much of it is packed inside stellate cells!
Vitamin A helps your eyes see in dim light and helps keep your skin and immune system healthy. Stellate cells store it and release it when your body needs it.
If the liver gets hurt, stellate cells wake up. They let go of their fat drops and start making tough fibers to patch the injury, a bit like a scar.
Scroll up to the 3D model and press Wake up! to see the cell start making repair fibers.