Detection of HCV in bile duct epithelium by laser capture microdissection (LCM).
Chronic hepatitis C affects 0.3 to 1.5% of the general population worldwide. The estimated total number of newly acquired hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections is 28,000 in the USA, with 10,000 deaths each year resulting from HCV-associated chronic liver disease. Histological examination of liver tissue from chronic HCV infection shows lymphoid aggregates or follicles in the portal triads, focal fatty change and lobular inflammation. Hepatitis-associated bile duct lesion (HBL) is seen in 5 - 91% of the cases. While the morphological spectrum of HBL has been well described, its pathogenesis in hepatitis C is not known. To this date, evidence supports both the direct injury and immune-mediated mechanisms, but to what extent these mechanisms are involved in the pathogenesis of HBL in chronic hepatitis C remains unclear. Our study showed the presence of HCV in the bile duct epithelium of patients with chronic hepatitis C infection, using the laser capture microdissection technique. These results will enhance our diagnostic capabilities and treatment of chronic hepatitis C infection.
Fillipowicz
E A
EA
Department of Pathology and Otolaryngology and The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA.
Xiao
S y
Sy
Sower
L E
LE
Weems
J
J
Payne
D A
DA
D000328:Adult; D001653:Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000737:chemistry; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D007834:Lasers; D008297:Male; D042282:Microdissection / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
D017931:DNA Primers; D012367:RNA, Viral