Neovascularization of pericellular fibrosis in alcoholic liver disease

The relationship between sinusoidal capillarization and pericellular fibrosis was studied in 29 specimens of human liver from patients with alcoholic liver disease. Immunohistochemically, factor VIII-related antigen was not observed in the normal sinusoidal lining cells, but was localized in the capillaries which proliferated in the pericellular fibrotic region. Fibronectin was localized in the proliferated endoplasmic reticulum of newly formed vascular endothelial cells and hepatocytes with the development of pericellular fibrosis, laminin became apparent in the plasmalemmal vesicles of capillary endothelial cells and pericytes and in the endoplasmic reticulum of mesenchymal cells in Disse's space. From these results, it was revealed that pericellular fibrosis was closely related to sinusoidal capillarization. Furthermore, it is suggested that this sinusoidal capillarization may be caused by neovascularization, and that the extracellular matrix produced by endothelial cells, hepatocytes and mesenchymal cells may promote this process.