Oxyphilic granular hepatocytes. Mitochondrion-rich liver cells in hepatic disease.

In the course of examining liver biopsy specimens, certain larger than normal liver cells whose cytoplasm is finely granular and strikingly acidophilic have been seen. These cells are called "oxyphilic granular hepatocytes" (oxyphils) because of their similarities to the "oncocytes" of the salivary glands and other endocrine organs. Oxyphilic liver cells can be readily differentiated from acidophilic bodies and groundglass hepatocytes by light and electron microscpy, the latter showing them to be extraordinarily rich in mitochondria. A retrospective study of 214 consecutive liver biopsies was undertaken to determine the prevalence of oxyphilic cells in a variety of liver diseases. Oxyphils were identified in 15% of the biopsy specimens, and were most strongly associated with chronic active hepatitis and cirrhosis in hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive patients. Subsequent reevaluation of 77 biopsy specimens from HBsAg-positive patients showed oxyphils in 28.6%. Their pathogenesis and significance in chronic liver disease are unknown.