Immunohistochemical profiles of Mallory body by a panel of anti-cytokeratin antibodies.

Mallory bodies (MBs) are hyaline inclusions found in a variety of liver diseases. Because the major components of MBs are cytokeratins (CKs), CK profiles of MBs were examined immunohistochemically in 37 autopsied liver specimens (including a variety of nontumor pathological livers and hepatocellular carcinomas), using 13 antibodies against specific CKs: 34betaB4 (CK 1), OV-TL12/30 (CK 7), 34betaH11 (CK 8), LHP1 (CK 10), KS-1A3 (CK 13), LL002 (CK 14), LHK15 (CK 15), LL025 (CK 16), E3 (CK 17), DC10 (CK 18), b170 (CK 19), Ks20.8 (CK 20), and 34betaE12 (CKs 1, 5, 10, and 11). Positive staining rates of MBs in 37 cases were as follows: CK 8, 100% (37/37); CK 18, 100% (37/37); CK 19, 57% (21/37). CK 7, 49% (18/37); CK 20, 35% (13/37); CK 1, CK 5, CK 10, CK 11, CK 13, CK 14, CK 15, CK 16, and CK 17 were all negative in MBs. CK expression patterns in MBs found in tumor or non-tumor hepatocytes was basically similar. Thus, all present MBs were composed of similar material with common antigenic determinants, regardless of underlying disease; in particular, they consistently contained CK 8 and CK 18, and frequently contained CK 7, CK 19, and CK 20. Copyright 2004 The Clinical Electron Microscopy Society of Japan