Histomorphological characteristics of liver tissue in patients with chronic viral hepatitis

OBJECTIVE : Chronic viral hepatitis and cirrhosis caused by hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HBC) or both constitute the majority of cases of liver diseases in China. Pathologists often need to differentiate between the morphological features of HBV and HCV. The aim of this study was to explore the differences in inflammatory activity, fibrosis and morphological characteristics in various types of chronic viral hepatitis. METHODS : Inflammatory activity and degree of fibrosis in liver biopsies taken from 224 patients with chronic hepatitis were determined according to the Diagnostic Criteria of Chronic Hepatitis, China, 1995. Each of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) and the hepatitis C virus nuclear core protein (CP₁₀) were detected on paraffin sections of the biopsies by using immunohistochemical methods. Patients were divided into HBV, HCV and HBV + HCV infection groups and the differences among these groups were assessed on the basis of histopathological characteristics including inflammatory activity, fibrosis, steatosis, intrahepatic cholestasis, Councilman bodies and ground‐glass hepatocytes. RESULTS : The HCV infection group had more severe inflammatory activity, fibrosis and intrahepatic cholestasis than did the HBV infection group. The degree of inflammatory activity and fibrosis in the HBV + HCV infection group was moderate, but the degree of intrahepatic cholestasis was the most severe of the three study groups. Ground‐glass hepatocytes were only noted in HBV‐infected specimens. There was no difference in the occurrences of steatosis and Councilman bodies among the three study groups. CONCLUSIONS : The degree of inflammatory activity and fibrosis induced by HCV in hepatocytes is more severe than that induced by HBV. The histological changes observed in liver infected by both HBV and HCV are no more severe than those observed in liver infected with either HBV or HCV. Intrahepatic cholestasis may play an important role in aggravating damage to hepatocytes.