Pathological study on gold impregnation of fat-storing cells in human liver

Examination of 51 human liver specimens with the modified Kupffer's gold impregnation method confirmed the presence and distribution of fat-storing cells in various kinds of diseased livers such as fatty liver, acute centrolobular necrosis, subacute massive necrosis and cirrhosis as well as in liver cell carcinoma. In normal liver, gold-reactive fat-storing cells were distributed in the central area or diffusely in lobules. In the liver with marked fatty change and obstructive jaundice, presence of fat-storing cells was able to be clarified by this method. In cases of acute hepatocellular necrosis, the necrotic areas contained a large number of fat-storing cells in contrast to adjacent areas. In cases of subacute massive hepatic necrosis and cirrhosis, the areas with abundant newly formed collagen fibers (type III collagen) contained many gold-reactive fat-storing cells. In the septa consisting of dense type I collagen fibers, by contraries, fat-storing cells were hardly visible. The features suggested that fat-storing cells are closely related to intralobular fibrogenesis. In one case of liver cell carcinoma, there were many gold-reactive fat-storing cells in tumour tissue.