Guido M, Rugge M, Fattovich G, Rocchetto P, Cassaro M, Chemello L, Noventa F, Giustina G, Alberti A
Cattedra di Istochimica ed Immunoistochimica Patologica, Università di Padova, Italy.
Liver. 1994 Dec;14(6):314-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0676.1994.tb00095.x.
To investigate the possible influence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection on hepatitis C virus-related liver disease, liver morphology was evaluated in 160 HBsAg-negative patients with chronic hepatitis C, including 68 HIV-positive and 92 HIV-negative cases. No differences were detected in the severity of necro-inflammatory hepatic lesions between HIV-negative and HIV-positive patients when the CD4+ lymphocytes count exceeded 400 cells/mm3. In contrast, HIV-positive patients with CD4+ lymphocytes below 400 cells/mm3 showed a significantly lower grade of portal inflammation and piecemeal necrosis. These results suggest that liver lesions in hepatitis C may largely depend on immunomediated mechanisms.
