Abstract
A wide range of molecular markers and different types of cells in liver are possible factors for progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) development of liver fibrosis. We investigated biopsies from 57 patients with NASH. The material was obtained from livers and was proceed immunohistochemistry antibodies against CD68 and TGF-beta 1. In addition, biopsies were evaluated for iron content. Macrophages/-positive/could be found in all 57 cases. The number of macrophages in the sinusoids correlated with the degree of portal fibrosis:64.% of the patients with mild or intensive fibrosis had high infiltration with CD68-positive cells, while 100% of the patients without fibrosis hadlow infiltration (χ2=8.56; p=0.003). In specimens we, 69.% of patients with different degree of fibrosis expressed TGF-β1 in their portal tracts, and 100% of patients without fibrosis did demonstrate expression of the protein (χ2=23.7; p<0.001). Hepatic iron was found in 100% (9) of patients with intensive fibrosis vs. 10.3% of the patients mild fibrosis (χ2=23.4; p<0.001). Our results suggest that the macrophages and macrophage-derived TGF-beta1 are the major factors responsible for development of fibrosis and progression of chronic liver disease.
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Ananiev, J., Penkova, M., Tchernev, G. et al. Macrophages, TGF-β1 expression and iron deposition in development of NASH. cent.eur.j.med 7, 599–603 (2012). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11536-012-0033-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/s11536-012-0033-9