THE LOCALIZATION OF HBsAG USED ALDEHYDE FUCHSIN STAINING METHOD IN THE LIVER TISSUES OBTAINED FROM PATIENTS WITH SEVERAL LIVER DISEASES

Abstract

The localization of HBsAg in the liver tissues obtained from patients with several liver diseases was studied for incidence, degree, intracytoplasmic distribution and intralobular distribution.
The liver tissues were obtained from 50 patients with HBsAg negative liver diseases, 18 cases of acute viral hepatitis with transient HBs antigenemia, 92 of various liver diseases with persistent HBs antigenemia and 22 asymptomatic HBsAg carriers.
Among several histochemical methods, aldehyde fuchsin staining method was chiefly used for the detection of HBsAg in the paraffin sections from fixed liver tissues.
Conclusions are as follows.
1) HBsAg was not detected in the liver tissues from 50 patients with HBsAg negative liver diseases and 18 cases of acute viral hepatitis with transient HBs antigenemia.
In the tissues obtained from 114 patients with persistent HBs antigenemia, incidence of cases containing HBsAg positive hepatocytes in individual disease was high in those with slight parenchymal lesions; 77% in asymptomatic HBsAg carrier, 70% in hepatic cirrhosis and 79% in hepatic cirrhosis with hepatoma.
By contrast, the low incidence was encountered in cases associating with moderate or severe parenchymal lesions; 35% in acute viral hepatitis and 17% in subacute hepatitis (Tisdale).
In chronic hepatitis the incidence (47%) was in the middle of the previous two groups.
2) With respects to the amount of HBsAg positive hepatocytes in the liver tissues many hepatocytes with HBsAg were found in most cases of asymptomatic HBsAg carrier and liver cirrhosis, but a small amount of hepatocytes containing HBsAg was detected in most cases of acute viral hepatitis, chronic hepatitis, and subacute hepatitis (Tisdale).
3) There were five types of intracytoplasmic distribution of HBsAg. They were perinuclear, diffuse cytoplasmic, pericytoplasmic and membranous distribution, and cytoplasmic inclusion.
Occasionally, various types were mixed in the same hepatic lobules, but mainly found types were diffuse cytoplasmic, pericytoplasmic distribution and cytoplasmic inclusion. The membranous type was found in four cases of asymptomatic HBsAg carriers and one of hepatic cirrhosis.
4) The distribution pattern of HBsAg positive liver cells in the hepatic lobules was divided into three zones; periportal, middle and central one.
In cases with many HBsAg positive hepatocytes they were distributed in all lobular zones, but in those with a small amount of HBsAg positive hepatocytes they were found in the periportal and/or middle zone.
No HBsAg positive hepatocytes were detected limited in the central zone.