Phenotypic characterization of mononuclear cell infiltrate in chronic active hepatitis (CAH) of different etiology

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Abstract
Summary 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-δ-negative with tissue signs of hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication, 6 HBsAg-positive/anti-δ-positive with tissue signs of hepatitis δ 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.