IDENTIFICATION OF LYMPHOCYTES IN PERCUTANEOUS LIVER-BIOPSY CORES - DIFFERENT T-B CELL RATIO IN HBSAG-POSITIVE AND HBSAG-NEGATIVE HEPATITIS

Abstract

The lymphocytes infiltrating the liver were isolated and characterized as T [thymus-derived] or B [bone marrow-derived] cells in 3 groups of patients: 20 patients with hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive acute and chronic hepatitis, 8 patients with HBsAg-negative chronic hepatitis with prior evidence for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and 5 patients with HBsAg-negative chronic hepatitis without prior evidence for HBV infection. The predominant cell infiltrating the liver was a T cell in all categories; however, the ratio of T:B cells was significantly lower (1.96) in the patients without evidence for HBV infection than in the patients who were HBsAg-positive at (7.86) or before (8.85) the time of study. The significantly (P < 0.001) higher number of B cells in the patients with chronic hepatitis of unknown etiology suggests that a different immunopathogenetic mechanism is operative in this group. A peripheral T lymphocytopenia was observed in patients with antecedent and existent BHs-antigenemia, but not in the patients without evidence for HBV infection.