[Immunohistochemical characterization of collagen in liver cirrhosis (author's transl)].

Using indirect immunofluorescence technique, 21 cases of hepatic cirrhosis of differing etiology were studied with type-specific antibodies to collagen type I, II, and III. In all cases the fibrous septa and portal tracts showed an increase in type III collagen. No fluorescence could be observed with antibodies to collagen type I and II. Thus, biochemical studies are supported which show, in addition to type III collagen, a new, as yet undescribed type of collagen in liver cirrhosis that is similar to type I collagen electronmicroscopically, but differs from type I collagen biochemically and immunologically. No correlation between the etiology of cirrhosis and the pattern of different collagen types could be found. The origin of different collagen types in liver cirrhosis is briefly discussed.