Expression of Fas antigen on hepatocytes in viral hepatitis patients

To evaluate the relationship between viral hepatitis and apoptosis, expression of Fas antigen in liver tissue sections of patients with viral hepatitis was investigated by immunohistochemical study using antibody to Fas antigen. A total of 46 liver tissues were obtained from 12 patients with acute viral hepatitis (AH) and 34 patients with chronic hepatitis (CH). Fas antigen was more markedly expressed in hepatocytes of AH patients than of CH patients. The Fas-positive hepatocytes of AH patients was localized rather diffusely in the inter lobular area and they were associated with closely to the area of the inflammatory cell infiltration. In CH patients, Fas antigen was weakly expressed in hepatocytes and was more intense in chronic active hepatitis than in persistent hepatitis patients. These results indicate that apoptosis may occur more frequently in AH than CH and might contributed to death of hepatocytes mainly in viral AH and partly in viral CH.