[Paracrystalline needle-shaped cytoplasmic liver cell inclusions in chronic hepatic porphyria--light and electron microscopic examination of liver biopsy specimens].

Paracrystalline needle-shaped cytoplasmic liver cell inclusions could be identified by light and electron microscopic examinations of 19 liver biopsy specimens in chronic hepatic porphyria. Light microscopically, they occurred in 6 cases, electron microscopically they were found in 13 ones. In the electron microscope these inclusions displayed tubular substructures with enhanced contrast of the membranes. They are specific for chronic hepatic porphyria; their light microscopic identification is of diagnostic value. Membranous material occurring in cisternae of the endoplasmic reticulum and adjacent to pigments and inclusions has not been described so far and is discussed with regard to its origin. Alterations of mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum, observed in all cases, point to a general liver cell damage in chronic hepatic porphyria. Up to the present, the chemical structure and pathogenesis of the inclusions are still unknown.