Investigation of TTV by in situ hybridization in patients with chronic hepatitis

To clarify whether TT virus (TTV) was present in liver tissues, 12 liver tissue samples from patients with chronic hepatitis positive for TTV in their serum and 11 samples from serum-negative patients were obtained by needle biopsies and investigated using in situ hybridization. Positive staining was observed in nine (75%) of 12 cases positive for TTV (serum-positive group) and three (27.3%) of 11 cases negative for TTV (serum-negative group) (P=0.061). Three kinds of staining patterns were observed: nuclear, cytoplasmic and both. In 58.3% (7/12) of the patients positive for TTV staining, the stained areas were found in both the nucleus and cytoplasm. Only cytoplasmic staining was observed in three cases from the serum-positive group. Only nuclear staining was observed in two cases from the serum-negative group. No significant differences were found in the clinical background between the in situ hybridization-positive and -negative groups, and between the serum-positive and -negative groups. The present study shows that TTV exists in the liver tissue, especially in hepatocytes, of chronic hepatitis patients and that the localization of TTV in the cell is different from case to case, although why this is so remains to be clarified.