K. Yamaoka et al., ALPHA-SMOOTH-MUSCLE ACTIN EXPRESSION IN NORMAL AND FIBROTIC HUMAN LIVERS, Digestive diseases and sciences, 38(8), 1993, pp. 1473-1479
To determine the significance of the expression of alpha-smooth-muscle
actin in the fibrotic human liver, normal and diseased livers were st
ained with anti-alpha-smooth-muscle-actin antibody by an immunoperoxid
ase method. Vitamin A-containing lipocytes were also identified by the
modified Kupffer's gold chloride method. In the normal human liver, l
ipocytes as well as vascular smooth muscle cells expressed alpha-smoot
h-muscle actin. In alcoholic liver disease, there was an increase in t
he cells positive for alpha-smooth-muscle actin adjacent to the fibrot
ic areas, but the response of lipocytes to the gold chloride reaction
diminished. In chronic hepatitis, the cells positive for alpha-smooth-
muscle actin increased around the enlarged portal areas, and the respo
nse to the gold chloride reaction did not change appreciably. An incre
ase in the cells positive for alpha-smooth-muscle actin was associated
with the progression of hepatic fibrosis in the liver of patients wit
h alcoholic liver disease and chronic hepatitis.