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Hepatic fas antigen expression before and after interferon therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C

  • Liver: Infectious, Inflammatory, And Metabolic Disorders
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Abstract

To assess the relationship between hepatitis C virus infection and Fas antigen expression on hepatocytes, we examined changes in hepatic Fas antigen expression in the presence or absence of active hepatitis C virus infection. Twenty patients with chronic hepatitis C infection were treated with interferon and underwent pre- and posttreatment liver biopsies. Patients were classified according to the absence (group A; n=9) or the presence (group B; n=11) of hepatitis C virus RNA (HCV-RNA) in the liver after interferon therapy. An immunohistochemical assay showed Fas antigen staining in hepatocytes membranes and cytoplasm with expression concentrated mainly in periportal areas. The percentage of Fas-positive cells in the liver before treatment was not different between group A (39.5 ± 19.1%) and group B (32.5 ± 15.6%). Hepatic Fas expression was reduced significantly after treatment (24.3 ± 10.6%) compared with the pretreatment values in group A (p < 0.05) but not in group B (25.9 ± 16.9%). There was no significant difference between the two groups in the degree of histologic improvement. These results suggest that hepatic Fas expression is associated with persistent infection of hepatitis C virus.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. From the First Department of Internal Medicine and Department of Virology and Parasitology, Yamaguchi University, School of Medicine, Yamaguchi, Japan

    Muneko Okazaki MD, Keisuke Hino MD, Kaori Fujii MD, Nobuyuki Kobayashi MD & Kiwamu Okita MD

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  1. Muneko Okazaki MD
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  2. Keisuke Hino MD
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  3. Kaori Fujii MD
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  4. Nobuyuki Kobayashi MD
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  5. Kiwamu Okita MD
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Okazaki, M., Hino, K., Fujii, K. et al. Hepatic fas antigen expression before and after interferon therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Digest Dis Sci 41, 2453–2458 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02100142

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02100142

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