Novel morphologic findings in alcoholic liver disease

Objectives: To study light and electron microscopic changes in alcohol-live r disease (ALD) patients, and characterize the expression pattern of Kupffe r and stellate cells, correlating changes with serum cytokine levels. Design and methods: Liver biopsies studied in 35 ALD patients were compared to 51 normal histology patients. Quantitation was done using immunochemist ry for Kupffer cells and morphometry, electron microscopy for stellate cell s. ELISA was used to measure serum cytokines in 80 controls and ALD patient s. Results: Biopsies of ALD patients confirmed increased number of perisinusoi dal, multivesicular, and stellate cells compared to controls. There was a s ignificant increase in the number and activity of multivesicular stellate c ells in ALD patients (p < 0.001). These changes were associated with signif icant increase in the degree of perisinusoidal collagenisation (p < 0.001). The number of Kupffer cells, serum tumor necrosis factor (TNF alpha), inte rleukins-6 (IL-6) and IL-12 levels, were also significantly higher in ALD p atients than controls. Conclusions: In non-cirrhotic ALD, stellate cells may be involved in lipid transport and a cytokine network may influence liver inflammation. Copyrigh t (C) 1999 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists.