Immunolocalization of proliferating perisinusoidal cells in rat liver

There is now substantial evidence that perisinusoidal (Ito or fat-storing) cells are the principal source of extracellular matrix proteins during hepatic fibrogenesis. In rat liver these cells express the intermediate filament protein desmin; this is now widely used as an immunohistochemical marker for these cells. It has been shown that in experimental models of acute and chronic liver injury there is an increase in the number of desmin-positive perisinusoidal cells prior to the deposition of matrix proteins; however, these studies have failed to establish whether local proliferation is involved in this expansion of the desmin-positive perisinusoidal cell population. In order to investigate the kinetics of the perisinusoidal cell response, we have developed a novel double-labelling immunohistochemical technique for the simultaneous demonstration of desmin and incorporated bromodeoxyuridine in proliferating perisinusoidal cells in sections of fixed paraffin-embedded rat liver. Application of this technique to a model of acute liver injury (single dose carbon tetrachloride by gavage) has shown that expansion of the perisinusoidal cell population is contributed to by local proliferation, with a labelling index of 18.7% 2 days following injury.