Objective: The study aimed at detection tissue expression of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) in children with chronic type B hepatitis.
Material and methods: The studies were performed on liver biopsies obtained from 26 children with active HBV replication after excluding infection with other hepatotropic viruses. Control group consisted of liver biopsies obtained from 5 children with chronic hepatitis of other aetiology (HCV, HCMV, autoimmune hepatitis). The studies were performed employing immunocytochemical techniques of detecting the early viral antigen (HCMV-EA) and the in situ hybridisation to detect HCMV-mRNA and HCMV-DNA.
Main observations: Among 26 children with chronic type B hepatitis, presence of HCMV-DNA and HCMV-EA was demonstrated in one child. In the case, no HCMV-mRNA was detected in the tissue. In the control group, immunoreactivity for EA was noted in one child with HCMV-induced chronic hepatitis. Neither DNA nor mRNA of--HCMV could be noted in the tissue. In another child of the control group pronounced (in over 60% cells) expression of HCMV-DNA was demonstrated, in the absence of HCMV-mRNA and EA-HCMV.
Conclusions: As shown by our studies, active HCMV infection in the liver in children with chronic HBV infection is a rare event and it does not deteriorate further histological pattern of the liver. However, effects of incomplete HCMV replication of extrahepatic localisation of viral particles on subsequent course of chronic hepatitis cannot be excluded. High effectiveness of the ImmunoMax technique should be stressed: the technique permitted to demonstrate even scanty amounts of the virus in the organ and in conditions of its incomplete replication.