[The hepatocyte in acute alcoholic hepatitis. Histoenzymological and ultrastructural analysis (author's transl)]

The interpretation of the morphological features of alcoholic hepatitis is discussed in terms of a comparison with the results of an ultrastructural and histoenzymological study of the liver biopsies of nine patients. In these patients liver biopsies were performed in the initial stage of the illness and fifteen days after five were re-biopsied, when the clinical and biological signs were improved. The correlations between morphological and biological data were good, especially for the levels of serological and histoenzymological alkaline phosphatase and gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase evaluations. However, when histological appearances had returned to normal, after two weeks of abstinence from alcohol several histological and ultrastructural features of the initial hepatitis persisted. The presence of evolving cirrhosis was a contributing factor to the severity of the changes seen. Morphologically, apart from the changes due to chronic alcoholic intoxication (steatosis, mitochondrial alteration), the hepatitic lesions comprise Mallory's bodies, cytoplasmic oedema and mitochondrial swelling. Cholestasis was invariably present. Histo-enzymologically there was a reduction in ATPase activity suggesting a metabolic failure in the energy producing pathways. In addition, in the periphery of lobules an active cirrhotic process was present, with tubular de-differentiation of hepatocytes and an increase in gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase on the cytoplasmic membrane. Because of the absence of any topographical relationship between hepatitis and cirrhosis, the presence of lymphocytes in the neighbourhood of the ductules suggested an indirect relationship between both processes, perhaps an autoimmune response initiated by Mallory's bodies.