Which hepatic cells store vitamin A and become activated in fibrosis?

• A. Hepatocytes
• B. Kupffer cells
• C. Ito cells
• D. Cholangiocytes

Answer: (C)

Hepatic stellate cells, also called Ito cells, store vitamin A as retinyl esters in cytoplasmic lipid droplets and sit in the space of Disse between hepatocytes and sinusoidal endothelium. In response to chronic liver injury, they become activated and transform into myofibroblast‑like cells that lose their lipid droplets and start producing extracellular matrix, especially collagen, driving fibrosis. This combination of vitamin A storage in a quiescent state and activation to a fibrogenic state is the hallmark of Ito cells. Other liver cell types—hepatocytes, Kupffer cells, and cholangiocytes—do not store vitamin A in lipid droplets, so Ito cells are the ones that fit both aspects of the question.