Question:easy
Vitamin A is stored in which of the following cells?
Vitamin A is stored in which of the following cells?
Show Hint
Think of the fat-storing cell sitting in the space of Disse.
Updated On: Jun 23, 2026
- Cells of Ito
- Hepatocyte
- Endothelial cell
- Kupffer cell
Show Solution
The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin, so its store must sit in a lipid-rich cell. We look inside the liver lobule for that cell.
Step 2: The space of Disse houses the hepatic stellate cell (Ito cell). It is loaded with fat droplets holding retinyl esters such as retinyl palmitate.
Step 3: Roughly $50-80\%$ of whole-body vitamin A sits in these droplets, which is why Ito cells are nicknamed vitamin A-storing or fat-storing cells.
Step 4: By elimination, hepatocytes (metabolic workhorses), Kupffer cells (phagocytes) and sinusoidal endothelial cells (lining) do not serve as the depot. The depot is the Ito cell.
\[\boxed{\text{Cells of Ito}}\]
Step 2: The space of Disse houses the hepatic stellate cell (Ito cell). It is loaded with fat droplets holding retinyl esters such as retinyl palmitate.
Step 3: Roughly $50-80\%$ of whole-body vitamin A sits in these droplets, which is why Ito cells are nicknamed vitamin A-storing or fat-storing cells.
Step 4: By elimination, hepatocytes (metabolic workhorses), Kupffer cells (phagocytes) and sinusoidal endothelial cells (lining) do not serve as the depot. The depot is the Ito cell.
\[\boxed{\text{Cells of Ito}}\]
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