Study on relationship between the apoptosis of hepatocytes and liver fibrosis of chronic viral hepatitis]

To study the relationship between apoptosis of hepatocytes and liver fibrosis of chronic viral hepatitis (CH).DNA fragmentation, one of the characteristic features of apoptosis, was detected by in situ terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) and the expression of Fas, transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) and Pre-collagen III peptide (P III P) in liver tissues were detected by immunohistochemistry. Soluble Fas (sFas) and TGF-beta 1 in serum were detected by ELISA.The damage of DNA in hepatocytes of CH correlated closely with the expression of Fas and TGF-beta 1 in liver tissue and serum (r = 0.6129, 0.5368, 0.5564, 0.5996; P <0.05-0.01). In severe type CH and liver cirrhosis, the degree of liver fibrosis and the expression of P III P and TGF-beta 1 were higher than that in mild type and moderate type CH.The sFas in serum may be one of the factors associated with the apoptosis. The apoptosis of hepatocytes correlated with liver fibrosis of CH and TGF-V beta 1 may play an important role between apoptosis and liver fibrosis.