INTRAHEPATIC CYTOTOXIC-CELL INFILTRATES IN CHRONIC HEPATITIS-B AND HEPATITIS-C - A COMPARATIVE IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL STUDY

Several studies have provided evidence for a different cytotoxic T lym phocyte (CTL) responsiveness to hepatitis B virus (HBV)- and hepatitis C virus (HCV)-encoded proteins at a peripheral blood level during chr onic infections. We performed a comparative in situ immunophenotyping study of liver-infiltrating cytotoxic cells in subjects with chronic H BV and HCV hepatitis, to verify whether differences in CTL infiltratio n may occur at the liver site. There was a similar pattern in terms of cytotoxic lymphocyte frequency and localisation in liver biopsy speci mens from subjects with chronic HBV or HCV infection. Moreover, in bot h HBV and HCV chronic hepatitis the degree of CD8(+) lymphocyte infilt ration did not correlate with alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activitie s. On the contrary, there was a statistically significant relationship in both groups of patients between CD8 antigen expression and histolo gical activity index (HAI). These findings imply that in chronically H BV and HCV infected patients there is an overlapping CTL tissue patter n at disease sites.