Spotlight on the three main hepatic fibrogenic cells in HCV-infected patients: Multiple immunofluorescence and ultrastructure study

ABSTRACT

The present work deals with the simultaneous ultrastructure and triple immunofluorescence study of the three main hepatic fibrogenic cells, hepatic stellate cell, myofibroblast (MF), and fibroblast, in a group of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA positive patients, as their exact interrelation behavior in vivo with the progress of hepatic fibrosis is still inadequate. In this study, for the first time, cells having the morphological characteristic of MF and not bone marrow fibrocytes were revealed in liver portal vessels. This necessitates the reevaluation of the available knowledge concerning bone marrow fibrocyte. Also, the distribution, cellular interrelations, and the fate of MF were highlighted.

KEYWORDS:

• Bone marrow fibrocyte
• fibroblast
• hepatic stellate cell
• liver fibrosis
• myofibroblast

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Prof. Dr. Inas Elattar, Professor of Biomedical Statistics at the National Cancer Institute, Egypt, for the statistical analysis of the obtained data. Thanks are due to Mr. Walid Mohamed for performing EM ultrathin sections. We acknowledge Mrs. Sahar Abbas for her assistance in the staining of liver sections using multiple immunofluorescence technique and for processing EM samples.

Author contributions: Soheir S. Mansy conceived the idea, designed and managed the study, obtained funding, organized logistics, and performed the study of liver sections at the level of light, confocal laser scanning, and electron microscopes. She analyzed and interpreted findings. She wrote the article and the discussion of the results. Mona N. Nosseir performed the morphometric image analysis. Mona A. Zoheiry carried out the assessment of serum hyaluronic acid. Moataz H. Hassanein and Mohammed F. Guda provided the study with the liver biopsies and patient clinical data. May M. Othman and Hoda A. Yehia assisted in logistics and data entry. All authors reviewed and approved the article.

Declaration of interest

The authors assert that there is no conflict of interest in regard to this article.

Funding

The authors acknowledge funding from the Science and Technology Development Fund (project number 1703).

Additional information

Funding

The authors acknowledge funding from the Science and Technology Development Fund (project number 1703).