Phenotypic in situ characterization of lymphocytes in mild alcoholic liver disease.

The subsets and expression of activation markers of inflammatory mononuclear cells in mild alcoholic liver disease were studied using monoclonal antibodies and an avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex (ABC) method. There were few B cells and monocytes in situ. Most of the mononuclear cells were of T cell origin, T4 and T8 positive cells being evenly distributed in a ratio of 2 to 1. This contrasts with the present and earlier findings on autoimmune liver diseases. The frequency of Ia (HLA-DR) positive cells varied between 15 and 30% of all mononuclear cells, which indicates activation of the local T cells. This implies that T cells in alcoholic fatty liver are not innocent bystanders but actively participate in the local inflammatory process. Staining for Tac, 4F2 and T9 was completely negative, however. These findings suggest that the local T cell activation may be incomplete and that it is not as extensive as in autoimmune liver diseases.