['The mechanisms involved in the beneficial effect of gadolinium chloride against endotoxin-induced liver damage were studied.', 'Superoxide anions released into the hepatic sinusoids were examined in a liver perfusion model using the cytochrome C method.', 'Gadolinium chloride treatment fully depleted ED2-positive cells from the liver and significantly attenuated superoxide anion release after a lipopolysaccharide or tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) challenge. Moreover, gadolinium chloride treatment resulted in a significant decline in endothelial cell damage in the hepatic sinusoids as assessed by the purine nucleoside phosphorylase/glutamic-pyruvic transaminase ratio in the liver perfusate. Although gadolinium chloride treatment did not affect the level of serum TNF-alpha, it significantly reduced that of interleukin (IL)-8 and neutrophil migration in the hepatic sinusoids after the lipopolysaccharide challenge.'] Does kupffer cell depletion attenuate superoxide anion release into the hepatic sinusoids after lipopolysaccharide treatment?