Sera collected from 1,118 healthy children and adults aged between four years and 90 years during the period 1989 to 1990, were tested for serological markers of hepatitis A virus (HAV) [antibody to HAV (anti-HAV)] and hepatitis B virus (HBV) [hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBsAb)]. The overall prevalence rates of anti-HAV, HBsAg, and anti-HBV were 20.2%, 0.36%, and 5.1%, respectively. No body was found to be positive for anti-HAV below 30 years of age but more than 70% of the adults aged 50 years or over were positive for anti-HAV. The level of exposure of HAV infection is declining in Japan and paradoxically at the same time a vast majority of people are becoming susceptible to more severe illness. The fall in prevalence of HBsAg possibly represents the positive impact of ongoing vaccination programs and other preventive measures against HBV.
All the patients with AIH were female (mean age, 57.6 Ϯ 14.1 years).Tests for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and anti-HCV antibody were negative in all PBC and AIH patients. Sera were stored at Ϫ80°C until tested.GBV-C/HGV was detected in one patient, a 59year-old woman, who had asymptomatic PBC and no history of blood transfusion. Pertinent laboratory values were: total bilirubin, 0.4 mg/dl; alanine aminotransferase (ALT),
Intrahepatic lymphocyte subpopulations were studied in eight cases of drug‐induced allergic hepatitis (DIAH) by the immunoenzymatic technique using monospecific T cell antibodies and other reagents. In peripheral blood, the CD4: CD8 ratio in DIAH was higher than that in normal controls. In liver tissue, CD8 positive lymphocytes were predominant, and these cells were attached to the surface of hepatocytes. Leu 7, CD4 and CD11 positive lymphocytes were scarce and were not attached to hepatocytes. HLA‐class I was displayed on the cell membrane of hepatocytes. These results suggest that cytotoxic T cells, which are CD8 positive, CD4 negative and CD11 negative, may play an important role in the pathogenesis of liver cell injury in patients with DIAH.
ABSTRACT— The expression of intercellular adhesion molecule‐1 (ICAM‐1) on the hepatocyte membrane was studied in 27 patients with chronic hepatitis B and C (CHB, CHC) by immunostaining using a monoclonal antibody. ICAM‐1 was expressed focally in a honeycomb‐like pattern by hepatocytes in livers of 26/27 patients. The degree of ICAM‐1 expression was closely related to the ALT level and the histological grade of liver damage. Abundant cytotoxic T cells (CD8 +, CD11b –) were found in ICAM‐1‐positive areas of the liver. Zones of focal necrosis contained both ICAM‐1‐positive hepatocytes and cytotoxic T cells. The expression of ICAM‐1 was decreased in 4/6 CHB patients after interferon‐α therapy. No relationship between the degree of hepatocyte ICAM‐1 expression and viral replication markers (DNA polymerase activity and the presence of HBcAg in the liver) was observed in patients with CHB. In addition, no positive correlation was found between the distribution of ICAM‐1‐positive hepatocytes and HBcAg‐positive hepatocytes. These results suggest that ICAM‐1 may play an important role in the pathogenesis of hepatocellular injury mediated by cytotoxic T cells in CHB and CHC.
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