Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC): antigen-presenting cells differ in their distribution in early and late stage PBC and involve the ductal, but not the ductular compartment

• Rontogianni, D. ^[1] ; Gerber, H. ^[2] ; Zimmermann, Astrid ^[2]
  1. [1] Evangelismos Hospital

     Evangelismos Hospital

     Dimos Athens, Grecia

     
  2. [2] Institute of Pathology of the University, Bern, Switzerland
• Localización: Histology and histopathology: cellular and molecular biology, ISSN-e 1699-5848, ISSN 0213-3911, Vol. 9, Nº. 2, 1994, págs. 211-220
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • We have studied the distribution patterns of antigen-presenting cells (APCs) in different stages of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). 58% of cases with early PBC (stages I and 11) exhibited dendritic APCs (S-loo+, HLA-DR+, KiMlp+) in bile duct epithelia. In contrast, APCs, were not detected in ductular proliferations occurring in late PBC (stages I11 and IV), but occurred in portal tracts and piecemeal necroses. There was a correlation between the presence of APCs and HLA-DR expression in bile ducts but, in contrast to former studies. we noted a heterogeneous ductal HLA expression. These observations support the hypothesis that: 1) APC distribution in PBC may change as a function of stage, involving hepatic parenchyma in late PBC; 2) ductular epithelia may not represent a target for immune attack, because APCs do not accumulate in these structures; and 3) HLA expression in bile ducts may be heterogeneous, suggesting one mechanism why bile duct destruction in PBC does not take place in a synchronous way.