Localization of type III procollagen mRNA in areas of liver fibrosis by in situ hybridization.

Localization of type III procollagen mRNA in human liver was studied by in situ hybridization using human alpha 1(III) procollagen cDNA. Frozen and paraformaldehyde-fixed sections of biopsied human liver from patients with chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis were examined using the digoxigenin-labeled cDNA probe. Localization of the type III procollagen mRNA was demonstrated not only in the cytoplasm of mesenchymal cells but also in a large number of hepatocytes, in proportion to the extent of fibrosis. These results suggest that hepatocytes play an important role in fibrogenesis in the liver.