title: Phenotypic characterization of mononuclear cell infiltrate in chronic active hepatitis (CAH) of different etiology.
abstract: The morphologic characterization of portal and lobular infiltrates of chronic active hepatitis (CAH) was performed on liver biopsy sections from 18 patients: 6 HBsAg-positive/anti-delta-negative with tissue signs of hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication, 6 HBsAg-positive/anti-delta-positive with tissue signs of hepatitis delta virus (HDV) replication, and 6 HBsAg-negative without clinical or serologic evidence of autoimmune disease. No statistically significant differences were found among all the three groups of patients studied. Results from the 6 HBsAg-negative cases with T4/T8 ratio greater than 1 confirm the differences reported between this type and autoimmune forms of CAH. The lack of statistically significant differences among patients with CAH of different etiology suggests that etiologic factors play a minor role in determining the characteristics of the inflammatory liver infiltrates.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D006512:Hepatitis B Core Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D006684:HLA-DR Antigens; D006512:Hepatitis B Core Antigens; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens