Electron microscopic analysis of sequential liver biopsy samples from patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Correlation with light microscopic findings.

We used electron microscopy (EM) to analyze 52 biopsy samples from 22 patients who were receiving long-term weekly oral doses of methotrexate (MTX) for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Forty-eight biopsy samples were obtained after 2-6 years of continuous treatment, and 4 samples were obtained before treatment was begun. Specimens were graded for neutral fat, secondary and tertiary lysosomes, and smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER) in hepatocytes, and for collagen in the perisinusoidal space (Disse's space). We examined the correlations between the EM findings and the light microscopic (LM) findings in the same biopsy specimens, and between the EM findings and the results of simultaneous monthly measures of aspartate transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, bilirubin, and albumin levels, as well as history of alcohol consumption before MTX treatment and monthly assessments of clinical status during the course of treatment. The presence of collagen was minimally increased in these sequential biopsy samples, whereas fat, lysosomes, and SER were decreased. The SER decrease was statistically significant. EM findings of collagen in the space of Disse did not correlate with early fibrotic changes observed with LM. Thus, after as long as 6 years of weekly oral treatment with MTX, hepatic ultrastructural changes are minimal and are not clinically significant. The use of EM for sequential biopsy studies allows the quantitation of long-term hepatic changes that may be more limited than the impression gained after LM analysis.