Marra F, DeFranco R, Grappone C, Milani S, Pastacaldi S, Pinzani M, Romanelli R G, Laffi G, Gentilini P
Istituto di Medicina Interna, Università di Firenze, Florence, Italy.
Am J Pathol. 1998 Feb;152(2):423-30.
Monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP)-1 is a chemoattractant and activator for circulating monocytes and T lymphocytes. We investigated MCP-1 protein and gene expression during chronic liver disease at different stages, using immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization, respectively. In normal liver, a modest expression of MCP-1 was confined to few peri-sinusoidal cells and to bile duct epithelial cells. During chronic hepatitis, MCP-1 immunostaining and gene expression were evident in the inflammatory infiltrate of the portal tract. In tissue from patients with active cirrhosis, MCP-1 expression was clearly up-regulated and was present in the portal tract, in the epithelial cells of regenerating bile ducts, and in the active septa surrounding regenerating nodules. A combination of in situ hybridization for MCP-1 and immunohistochemistry showed that activated stellate cells and monocyte/macrophages contribute to MCP-1 expression in vivo together with bile duct epithelial cells. Comparison of serial sections of liver biopsies from patients with various degrees of necro-inflammatory activity showed that infiltration of the portal tracts with monocytes/macrophages is directly correlated with the expression of MCP-1. These data expand previous in vitro studies showing that secretion of MCP-1 may contribute to the formation and maintenance of the inflammatory infiltrate observed during chronic liver disease.
单核细胞趋化蛋白（MCP）-1是循环单核细胞和T淋巴细胞的趋化因子和激活剂。我们分别使用免疫组织化学和原位杂交技术，研究了不同阶段慢性肝病期间MCP-1蛋白和基因的表达情况。在正常肝脏中，MCP-1适度表达局限于少数肝窦周细胞和胆管上皮细胞。在慢性肝炎期间，MCP-1免疫染色和基因表达在门管区的炎症浸润中明显可见。在活动性肝硬化患者的组织中，MCP-1表达明显上调，存在于门管区、再生胆管的上皮细胞以及围绕再生结节的活动性间隔中。MCP-1原位杂交和免疫组织化学相结合显示，活化的星状细胞和单核细胞/巨噬细胞与胆管上皮细胞一起在体内促成MCP-1的表达。对不同程度坏死性炎症活动患者肝活检连续切片的比较显示，单核细胞/巨噬细胞对门管区的浸润与MCP-1的表达直接相关。这些数据扩展了先前的体外研究，表明MCP-1的分泌可能有助于慢性肝病期间观察到的炎症浸润的形成和维持。
