Beyond scoring: a modern histological assessment of chronic hepatitis should include tissue angiogenesis

We read with great interest the leading article by Rosselli et al1 which offers a contemporary perspective to the clinical issue of interpreting progression (and regression) of chronic liver diseases (CLDs). We fully agree with the view that the histological scoring of fibrosis is a reductive approach to the assessment of CLDs, as it does not fully reflect the complex events involved in the progression to cirrhosis. As suggested by Rosselli et al, a more insightful morphological analysis of liver biopsy should consider other important factors contributing to disease progression/regression, and possibly to cancer development. Angiogenesis represents one of such key factors. Liver angiogenesis is a pathophysiological process characterised by changes in the phenotype of sinusoidal endothelial cells, which assume the features of capillary endothelial cells. This process, known as sinusoidal capillarisation (SC), can be routinely assessed by CD34 immunostaining, that results negative in normal liver sinusoids...
Source: Gut - Category: Gastroenterology Authors: Tags: PostScript Source Type: research