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Objective: To study the B23 expression and relocation in the process of liver regeneration at different time periods after partial hepatectomy (PH) on healthy rats, and to study the feasibility of using B23 as a proliferation marker., Methods: Eighteen rats underwent partial hepatectomy (PH). The regenerative liver tissues were obtained at day 1, 2, 3, 4,and 7 after PH. The expression of B23 in hepatocytes of the regenerative tissues was measured using monoclonal antibody against nucleophosmin/B23 by Western blot and immunohistochemistry. The expression of proliferate cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in these cells were measured using monoclonal antibody against PCNA by both methods for comparison with that of B23., Results: Expression of B23 in the steady state of liver cells before PH was hardly detected by both methods. The increased expression of B23 in the regenerative liver cells was quantitatively changed like a parabolic curve at day 1 to days 7 after PH, with the peak expression of B23 at day 3 after PH. This quantitative variation of B23 expression was similar to that of PCNA expression. The variation of location of B23 in the regenerative liver cells was observed from nucleolus (G1-S phase) to nucleoplasm (S-G2 phase) and to cytoplasm and mitotic chromosome (M phase)., Conclusion: B23 expression is quantitatively increased and moves in location in the process of liver regeneration after PH. B23 may be regarded as a proliferation marker in liver regeneration and liver cell hyperplasia.

A sensitive method for demonstrating the site of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in fixed tissues embedded in either paraffin or araldite is described. The method employs the peroxidase-rabbit antiperoxidase linkage through goat antirabbit to rabbit anti-HBsAg. In staining hepatitis antigen in agar, comparison of fixation (using three common fixatives) with unfixed precipitation arcs revealed no recognizable differences in antigenicity induced by fixation. The method allows confirmation of positive reaction by appropriate blocking controls. The technic is compared with the orcein stain of Shikata and found to be somewhat more sensitive but slightly more time-consuming.

Exsanguinating hemorrhage complicated a percutaneous needle biopsy in a 64-yr-old woman with a probable collagen vascular disease. Angiography performed before Gelfoam embolization demonstrated a hepatic arterio-portal venous-peritoneal fistula, a lesion not previously described, to be a cause of the hemorrhage. Although surgery remains the treatment of choice, the role of selective hepatic arteriography and Gelfoam embolization in patients with serious hemorrhage who are poor surgical risks needs evaluation.

The livers of 26 adult males with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) were reviewed. The occurrence of portal tracts with diminished lymphocytes, probably reflecting generalized exhaustion of the lymphoid system, was a characteristic morphologic change, and was found in all cases. Kupffer cell hyperplasia was also a frequent finding and probably reflected generalized infection(s). Punched-out clusters of foamy histiocytes filled with acid-fast bacilli, typical for infection with Mycobacterium avium intracellulare (MAC), were found in three patients. In addition, MAC was cultured from two livers without the foamy histiocytic changes. Chronic viral hepatitis (three cases) and deposition of polarizable materials (one case) in the liver might be related to unusual habits of patients with AIDS. In conclusion, livers from patients with AIDS disclosed several kinds of lesions reflecting underlying or associated conditions in AIDS, but these did not contribute to the cause of death in our patients.