Association of Prion Protein with the Stage of Liver Fibrosis in Chronic Viral Hepatitis

Objective: Prion protein (PrP) expresion has previously been demonstrated in activated hepatic stellate cells (HSC), which play a key role in the development of liver fibrosis. In this study, we aimed to investigate the cor- relation between PrP expression and hepatic inflamma- tion/fibrosis in patients with chronic viral hepatitis (CVH). Material and Methods: Liver specimens of 40 patients with CVH and 10 patients with metastatic liver disease having a normal liver architecture as a control group were evaluated. ThePrP staining index was calculated by counting PrP positive cells per microscopic field after immunostaining. Hepatic inflammatory activity and fibro- sis scores were evaluated and compared with the num- ber of PrP positive HSC. Results: Varying degrees of PrP expression were detected in histologic samples of the liver in patients with CVH, whereas no staining was observed in control specimens. It was also detected that the grade of inflam- matory activity and stage of liver fibrosis were signifi- cantly correlated with PrP staining index (p=0.0001 for inflammation and p=0.005 for fibrosis). Conclusions: PrP is a good marker of activated HSC and correlates well with the inflammatory activity and stage of fibrosis in CVH.