Ground glass hepatocytes contain pre-S mutants and represent preneoplastic lesions in chronic hepatitis B virus infection.
The discovery of "ground glass" hepatocytes (GGH) that contain hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface antigens by Hadziyannis and Popper in 1973 represents a historical landmark in the pathology of chronic HBV infection. Different types of GGH have been correlated to the expression patterns of surface/core antigens and the stages of virus replication. The original two types (designated types I & II) of GGH were found to contain specific pre-S mutants with deletions over either pre-S1 or pre-S2 regions, respectively. Type II GGH consistently harbor pre-S2 deletion mutants, which can escape from immune attack and grow preferentially to form clusters. Both types of pre-S mutants can induce endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and oxidative DNA damage. The pre-S2 mutants, albeit inducing a weaker level of ER stress signals, could additionally initiate ER stress-independent retinoblastoma/adenovirus E2 promoter binding factor/cyclin A signaling through their interaction with c-Jun activation domain binding protein 1 to degrade p27, illustrating the growth advantage of type II GGH. The combined effects of genomic instability and the proliferation of hepatocytes harboring pre-S mutants could potentially lead to hepatocarcinogenesis over the decades of chronic HBV infection. The presence of pre-S mutants in sera was reported to carry a high risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Furthermore, transgenic mice harboring pre-S2 mutant plasmids have been shown to develop a dysplastic change of hepatocytes and HCC. Therefore, in addition to being a histological marker of chronic HBV infection, GGH, particularly type II GGH, may represent the preneoplastic lesions of HBV-related HCC.
Su
Ih-Jen
IJ
Division of Clinical Research, National Health Research Institutes, Tainan, Taiwan. suihjen@nhri.org.tw
Wang
Hui-Ching
HC
Wu
Han-Chieh
HC
Huang
Wen-Ya
WY
D000818:Animals; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D009154:Mutation; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D017293:Protein S / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*
D011498:Protein Precursors; D017293:Protein S; C050930:protein S precursor