Post-transplant reactivation of hepatitis C virus: lymphocyte infiltration and the expression of adhesion molecules and their ligands in liver allografts |
| |
Authors: | Lipson Katri Lappalainen Maija Höckerstedt Krister Lautenschlager Irmeli |
| |
Affiliation: | Department of Virology, Transplantation and Liver Surgery Unit, Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland. |
| |
Abstract: | Hepatitis C virus (HCV) recurrence after liver transplantation has been associated with chronic rejection. Biopsies from 10 patients with post-transplant HCV were examined for expression of adhesion molecules ICAM-1, VCAM-1, and ELAM-1, number of lymphocytes positive for their ligands LFA-1, VLA-4, and SLeX, and activation markers MHC class II antigens and IL2-R by immunohistochemistry. The phenotypes of the graft-infiltrating lymphocytes were determined. Results were compared to those for patients with normal graft function or rejection. Five recipients with HCV reactivation and one with de novo HCV had a biopsy available showing induction of ICAM-1 in sinusoidal endothelium (p<0.05) and hepatocytes (p<0.01), and Class II antigens in hepatocytes (p<0.01), compared to normal controls. Lymphocytes in the graft infiltrate expressed LFA-1, VLA-4, and Class II antigens, but IL2-R was not significantly expressed. CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ cells were observed. In our study, HCV recurrence was not associated with acute or chronic rejection, and the inflammation was due to the viral infection. |
| |
Keywords: | Adhesion molecules liver transplantation hepatitis C virus infection |
本文献已被 PubMed 等数据库收录! |
|