Detection of Hepatitis Virus B And C in Archival Autopsy Specimens of Liver Cirrhosis

Abstract

Archival pathology specimens long-conserved in pathology divisions are of historical value [1][2][3][4]. In some institutions, formalin-fixed tissues are preserved for a long period of time. In the present article, we tried to detect hepatitis B and C viruses in archival autopsy specimens, in order to know the times when hepatitis viruses existed in Japan, based on the epidemiological and historical point of view. The archival specimens were provided from Kyushu University and Niigata University. Fixed human autopsy specimens are open to the public in Kyushu University Museum, Fukuoka, and 10 liver tissues of advanced liver cirrhosis autopsied in the period from 1907 to 1930 were sampled after a long fixation period. In addition, a total of 22 paraffin blocks of liver lesions (chronic active

Pitfalls and Caveats in Applying Immunostaining to Histopathological Diagnosis

“…As shown in Figure 7, we detected HBs antigen of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and the genome of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in liver cirrhosis specimens soaked in the fixative for up to 110 years, by applying immunostaining using a monoclonal antibody against HBs antigen and nested RT-PCR against the core region of HCV, respectively. 14) Once the author visited the Gordon Museum of Pathology at Guy's Hospital in London, UK, he had a chance to get unstained glass slides of autopsy specimens of Hodgkin's lymphoma sampled by Dr. Thomas Hodgkin himself 170 years before. The specimens were fixed in ethanol for 80 years and then in formalin for 90 years.…”