[Morphological possibilities of detecting HBc-antigen in liver tissue in chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis]

It has been shown that detection of HBc-antigen in the organ tissue requires the use of a complex of the morphologic methods: histologic, immunohistochemical and electron microscopic. Ultrastructurally, the eosinophilic material in hepatocytic nuclei appears as flocks of electron dense granules 27 nm in size and produces intensive fluorescence with antiserum to HBc-antigen, all this pointing to the presence of deep antigen in the organ tissue. The patients with chronic active hepatitis and active liver cirrhosis associated with the presence of HBc-antigen in the blood serum demonstrates accumulation of both the surface and deep antigen by hepatocytes. Morphologically, the surface antigen is shown by ground glass-hepatocytes, whereas the deep one by "sand nuclei".