AIM:To investigate the ultrastructure of oval cells in children with chronic hepatitis B,with special emphasis on their location in areas of collagen fibroplasia. METHODS:Morphological investigations were conducted on...AIM:To investigate the ultrastructure of oval cells in children with chronic hepatitis B,with special emphasis on their location in areas of collagen fibroplasia. METHODS:Morphological investigations were conducted on biopsy material obtained from 40 children,aged 3-16 years with chronic hepatitis B. The stage of fibrosis was assessed histologically using the arbitrary semiquantitative numerical scoring system proposed by Ishak et al. The material for ultrastructural investigation was fixed in glutaraldehyde and paraformaldehyde and processed for transmission-electron microscopic analysis. RESULTS:Ultrastructural examination of biopsy specimens obtained from children with chronic hepatitis B showed the presence of two types of oval cells,the hepatic progenitor cells and intermediate hepatic-like cells. These cells were present in the parenchyma and were seen most commonly in areas of intense periportal fibrosis (at least stage 2 according to Ishak et al) and in the vicinity of the limiting plate of the lobule. The activated nonparenchymal hepatic cells,i.e. transformed hepatic stellate cells and Kupffer cells were seen in close proximity to the intermediate hepatic-like cells. CONCLUSION:We found a distinct relationship between the prevalence of oval cells (hepatic progenitor cells and intermediate hepatocyte-like cells) and fibrosis stage in pediatric patients with chronic hepatitis B.展开更多
Background Leptin may induce inflammation in asthma by activation of Th2 cells. It has also been demonstrated that leptin expression increases upon inflammation and that asthmatic patients show increased serum leptin ...Background Leptin may induce inflammation in asthma by activation of Th2 cells. It has also been demonstrated that leptin expression increases upon inflammation and that asthmatic patients show increased serum leptin levels. We hypothesized that the polymorphism in leptin (LEP) and leptin receptor (LEPR) genes is associated with childhood asthma and may affect their serum level. To our knowledge, there are no reports analyzing LEP and LEPR polymorphisms in association with their serum levels in childhood asthma. Methods We analyzed 35 subjects: 25 asthmatic pediatric patients and 10 healthy children aged from 6 to 18. The diagnosis of allergic asthma was based on clinical manifestation, lung function, positive skin prick tests and increased immunoglobulin E levels. The polymorphisms were genotyped with use of polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymor-phism method. Serum levels of leptin and leptin receptor were determined using BioVendor enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. Statistical analysis was done with Statistica v.12. Results We observed that leptin levels were increased in asthmatic subjects as compared to healthy controls and were sig-nificantly higher during exacerbation than in the asymptomatic period (P=0.025). We observed that LEP polymorphism (rs13228377) was associated with higher serum leptin levels in asthma and these two variables had high predictive value for asthma risk (P=0.007, odds ratio 17.5, predictive accuracy 83.9%). LEPR polymorphisms did not show association with its serum level and asthma risk. Conclusion LEP polymorphism may increase asthma risk via influence on its serum level.展开更多
文摘AIM:To investigate the ultrastructure of oval cells in children with chronic hepatitis B,with special emphasis on their location in areas of collagen fibroplasia. METHODS:Morphological investigations were conducted on biopsy material obtained from 40 children,aged 3-16 years with chronic hepatitis B. The stage of fibrosis was assessed histologically using the arbitrary semiquantitative numerical scoring system proposed by Ishak et al. The material for ultrastructural investigation was fixed in glutaraldehyde and paraformaldehyde and processed for transmission-electron microscopic analysis. RESULTS:Ultrastructural examination of biopsy specimens obtained from children with chronic hepatitis B showed the presence of two types of oval cells,the hepatic progenitor cells and intermediate hepatic-like cells. These cells were present in the parenchyma and were seen most commonly in areas of intense periportal fibrosis (at least stage 2 according to Ishak et al) and in the vicinity of the limiting plate of the lobule. The activated nonparenchymal hepatic cells,i.e. transformed hepatic stellate cells and Kupffer cells were seen in close proximity to the intermediate hepatic-like cells. CONCLUSION:We found a distinct relationship between the prevalence of oval cells (hepatic progenitor cells and intermediate hepatocyte-like cells) and fibrosis stage in pediatric patients with chronic hepatitis B.
文摘Background Leptin may induce inflammation in asthma by activation of Th2 cells. It has also been demonstrated that leptin expression increases upon inflammation and that asthmatic patients show increased serum leptin levels. We hypothesized that the polymorphism in leptin (LEP) and leptin receptor (LEPR) genes is associated with childhood asthma and may affect their serum level. To our knowledge, there are no reports analyzing LEP and LEPR polymorphisms in association with their serum levels in childhood asthma. Methods We analyzed 35 subjects: 25 asthmatic pediatric patients and 10 healthy children aged from 6 to 18. The diagnosis of allergic asthma was based on clinical manifestation, lung function, positive skin prick tests and increased immunoglobulin E levels. The polymorphisms were genotyped with use of polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymor-phism method. Serum levels of leptin and leptin receptor were determined using BioVendor enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. Statistical analysis was done with Statistica v.12. Results We observed that leptin levels were increased in asthmatic subjects as compared to healthy controls and were sig-nificantly higher during exacerbation than in the asymptomatic period (P=0.025). We observed that LEP polymorphism (rs13228377) was associated with higher serum leptin levels in asthma and these two variables had high predictive value for asthma risk (P=0.007, odds ratio 17.5, predictive accuracy 83.9%). LEPR polymorphisms did not show association with its serum level and asthma risk. Conclusion LEP polymorphism may increase asthma risk via influence on its serum level.
