Cytomegalovirus infection of the liver

Hepatic involvement of cytomegalovirus (CMV) was studied in 15 autopsy cases with disseminated or solitary CMV infection. Formalin fixed, paraffin embedded tissue sections were examined by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and in situ hybridization (ISH). There were three, five and seven positive cases by routine histology, ISH and IHC, respectively. CMV infection was detected not only in cytomegalic cells but also in many normal looking cells by IHC and ISH. The inflammatory reaction in the liver was not so prominent as expected by reports from western countries. The cause of weak inflammatory response in the liver of our cases was discussed.