title: Thymidine phosphorylase expression in patients with chronic viral hepatitis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The role of thymidine phosphorylase (TP), an angiogenic factor, in chronic viral hepatitis is unclear. In the present study we investigated TP expression in chronic viral hepatitis due to hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-eight patients suffering from chronic viral hepatitis and 13 cirrhotic patients due to either HBV or HCV were studied. TP expression was investigated using a standard immunohistochemical technique and the specific antibody P-GF.44C.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The pattern of TP staining was predominantly nuclear, or mixed nuclear/cytoplasmic, but no significant difference in such expression was noted between chronic hepatitis B and C: nuclear immunostaining, t=0.0616, p=0.9511; cytoplasmic immunostaining, t=0.5188, p=0.6060. There was, however, a marked difference in TP expression between patients with chronic hepatitis B/C and cirrhosis. Notably, this finding applied to both nuclear (p=0.00754, p=0.0143, respectively) and cytoplasmic (p=0.000091, p=0.000031, respectively) expression.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These observations indicate that TP expression, although linked to liver cirrhosis, may not be virus-related.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Internal Medicine, Chrisostomou Smirnis 8, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece. kmimidis@otenet.gr
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mimidis
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giatromanolaki
authors.forename: Efthimios
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sivridis
authors.forename: Vassilios
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Papadopoulos
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ritis
authors.forename: Georgios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kartalis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000472:pathogenicity; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000201:enzymology*; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000821:virology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013939:Thymidine Phosphorylase / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: D013939:Thymidine Phosphorylase