%0 Journal Article
%T Morphological characterisation of portal myofibroblasts and hepatic stellate cells in the normal dog liver
%A Jooske IJzer
%A Tania Roskams
%A Ronald F Molenbeek
%A Ton Ultee
%A Louis C Penning
%A Jan Rothuizen
%A Ted SGAM van den Ingh
%J Comparative Hepatology
%D 2006
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1476-5926-5-7
%X In the formalin-fixed and paraffin embedded normal canine liver vimentin showed staining of hepatic fibroblasts, probably including MF in portal areas and around hepatic veins; however, HSC were in general negative. Desmin proved to react with both portal MF and HSC. A unique feature of these HSC was the positive immunostaining for alpha-smooth muscle actin (¦Á-SMA) and muscle-specific actin clone HHF35 (HHF35), also portal MF stained positive with these antibodies. Synaptophysin and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) were consistently negative in the normal canine liver. In a frozen chronic hepatitis case (with expected activated hepatic MF and HSC), HSC were negative to synaptophysin, GFAP and NCAM. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) immunogold labelling for ¦Á-SMA and HHF35 recognized the positive cells as HSC situated in the space of Disse.In the normal formalin-fixed and paraffin embedded canine liver hepatic portal MF and HSC can be identified by ¦Á-SMA, HHF35 and to a lesser extent desmin immunostaining. These antibodies can thus be used in further studies on hepatic fibrosis. Synaptophysin, GFAP and NCAM do not seem suitable for marking of canine HSC. The positivity of HSC for ¦Á-SMA and HHF35 in the normal canine liver may eventually reflect a more active regulation of hepatic sinusoidal flow by these HSC compared to other species.Hepatic fibrosis is a common outcome of hepatic injury in both man and dog. Depending on the primary site of injury the fibrosis may be restricted to the portal areas as in most biliary diseases or may be present in the hepatic parenchyma as seen in chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis. Chronic hepatitis is often diagnosed in pet-dogs. Treatment provides only limited results and the underlying mechanism of fibrosis is unclear. Activated fibroblasts which develop myofibroblasts (MF) characteristics play an essential role in hepatic fibrogenesis [1]. Three different MF-like cells have been described in rat and man based on location a
%U http://www.comparative-hepatology.com/content/5/1/7