What sets liver cells apart from other human cells?

Question

What sets liver cells apart from other human cells?

Answer 1

Most mature cell types are functionally specialized to play one particular role in the economy of the larger body. Hepatocytes (liver cells) are different. Instead of displaying a concentration of one particular organelle, hepatocytes have lots of everything -- lots of mitochondria, lots of ribosomes, lots of Golgi bodies, lots of endoplasmic reticulum (both rough and smooth), lots of stored glycogen, lots of lysosomes, lots of plasma membrane (with microvilli on the free surface).  They even have lots of nuclei.

The liver itself is unique among the body’s vital organs in that it can regenerate, or grow back, cells that have been destroyed by some short-term injury or disease.