Novel inclusion body in hepatitis-related liver cirrhosis

Luxol fast blue (LFB) was found to stain inclusion bodies in liver tissue which was considered to have been infected by hepatitis virus. There were two types of inclusion bodies, which were quite similar in morphology but showed somewhat different stainability by several dyes. One was confirmed to be hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), but the other was definitely not, as far as can be determined by the best present-day immunological and histological techniques. The latter was found less commonly in the liver of unselected, consecutive autopsy cases (which included some cases of hepatitis), rather commonly in cirrhotic liver without any trace of hepatitis B virus infection, and with extremely high incidence in liver carrying HBsAg. Electron microscopic examination of the liver with inclusion bodies of this type disclosed unfamiliar structures which resembled virus-like particles at the same area as LFB positivity. The significance of the novel inclusion body revealed by LFB stain in the liver is not clear at present. However, it could be interpreted as a morphological manifestation of non-A non-B hepatitis virus infection, if there are two types of human hepatitis viruses, B and non-A non-B, which are very closely related intrinsically or produce some common product(s) in infected hepatic cells.