Hepatic sinusoidal macrophages in alcoholic liver disease

Abstract

Lysozyme is a bacteriocidal enzyme which is a major stable secretory product of mononuclear phagocytes, including hepatic sinusoidal macrophages (HSM), and serves as a good marker for these cells. Patients with alcoholic liver disease (ALD) have decreased HSM function which is reflected in reduced clearance of microorganisms and endotoxin derived from the gut. The HSM population in 54 liver biopsies from patients with ALD was studied using immunoperoxidase staining of lysozyme and was compared with 15 histologically normal controls. In both groups lysozyme positive HSM were more numerous in periportal than perivenous parenchyma. In each zone there were significantly fewer positive HSM in cases of ALD than in controls, in alcoholic hepatitis than in ALD without hepatitis, and in cirrhosis than in ALD without cirrhosis. These findings suggest a decreased population of functionally active HSM in ALD which correlates with severity of liver damage. This might be due to decreased lysozyme content of the entire HSM population or to the existence of two populations, one positive and one negative for lysozyme. The observed decrease in HSM function explains many of the phenomena observed in ALD.

Portal tract macrophages are increased in alcoholic liver disease

“…In a previous immunohistological study of ALD, decreased numbers of lysozyme positive hepatic sinusoidal macrophages were reported and this correlated with the seventy of liver damage (Mills & Scheuer 1985). In our study, we confirmed the reduction in lysozyme positive hepatic sinusoidal macrophage numbers in ALD.…”

“…Although this was more marked in alcoholic hepatitis than in fatty change, we did not find a significant correlation between the change in macrophage numbers and the severity of liver damage. It is difficult to compare our cell numbers per mm2 with the previous data from Mills & Scheuer (1985) who expressed their results as the mean and range of the maximum and the minimum cell counts obtained in five graticule fields of unspecified size. They compared the overall results for ALD cases with normals, and with the subgroup of ALD cases with and without hepatitis, and ALD cases with and without cirrhosis.…”

“…Lysozyme, a bacteriolytic enzyme which is synthesized and secreted by macrophages as well as blood monocytes and neutrophils, is a useful cytoplasmic marker of macrophages. In a recent immunohistological study of ALD (Mills & Scheuer 1985), decreased numbers of lysozyme positive hepatic sinusoidal macrophages were reported. An undefined portion of sinusoidal cells, negative for lysozyme, was also observed in their study.…”

Kupffer cell numbers during human development

“…Some work has suggested that in normal adult human liver (Mills &Scheuer, 1985) and in adult rat tiver (SIeyster& Knock, 1982) there are higher numbers of macrophages in periportal sinusoids than in centrivenous zones. Karakucuk et at.…”

Evidence for enhanced secretory function of hepatic macrophages after long‐term ethanol feeding in rats

“…It is generally believed that long-term ethanol consumption depresses hepatic macrophage function, because clearance of carbon particles of microaggregated albumin from the circulation is decreased in alcoholics or ethanol-fed rats (I), and the lysozyme content of Kupffer cells is reduced in alcoholic liver disease in humans (2,3). Kupffer cells isolated from these rats have been reported to have a reduced phagocytic function in vitro, associated with decreased number of cytoplasmic projections ( 4 3 .…”