ELECTRON AND IMMUNOELECTRON MICROSCOPIC STUDY ON LIVER-TISSUES OF MARMOSETS INFECTED WITH HEPATITIS-A VIRUS

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  • 1 January 1979
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 41  (1) , 63-71
Abstract
EM and immuno-EM studies were conducted on liver tissues from 3 marmosets experimentally infected with hepatitis A virus and sacrificed during the acute phase of illness. Ultrastructurally, the liver cells demonstrated marked cisternal dilation of endoplasmic reticulum and vesicular transformation and contortion of endoplasmic reticulum profiles. Clusters of virus-like particles of 24-27 nm in diameter, solid and empty forms, were found in membrane-bound cytoplasmic vesicles. In 1 animal, the virus-like particles were significantly smaller, measuring 17-22 nm in size and almost all were solid forms embedded in an amorphous matrix. Clusters of virus-like particles were found in the bile canaliculi of liver cell cords and in lysosomal structures of monocytes or Kupffer cells in the hepatic sinusoids. The latter correlated with the immunofluorescent microscopic finding. Indirect immunoferritin staining was conducted on fresh and formalin-fixed liver tissues using convalescent phase serum from patients recovered from hepatitis A virus infection as the primary antibody and the ferritin-labeled rabbit anti-human Ig[immunoglobulin]G or ferritin-labeled staphylococcal protein A as the secondary antibody. Specific stainings were observed with the virus-like particles indicating that the particles were probably antigenically related to hepatitis A virus. Hepatitis A virus is probably produced in the liver. The infection seems to produce a cytopathic effect especially to the endoplasmic reticulum organelle of hepatocytes.