Kupffer Cells in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Park, Young Nyun; Jung, Soon Hee; Park, Chan Il

Abstract

Kupffer cells are tissue macrophages (histiocytes) fixed in hepatie sinusoids. Since malignant hepatocytes are the only tumor parencymal cells of the hepatocellular carcinoma, theoretically there are no Kupffer cells within the hepatocellular carcinoma. To clarify whether it is true or not, 12 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma of the trabecular type with some extents of the non-neoplastic surrounding liver were subjected to immunoperoxidase staining for lysozyme and S-100 protein and the results are as follows. 1) Kupffer cells were stained positively by the immunoperoxidase staining for lysozyme but not for S-100 protein, indicating that they are monocyte derived macrophages. 2) Kupffer cells were also present within the hepatocellular carcinoma, but were 2-7 times fewer within the hepatocellular carcinoma than in the non-neoplastic areas (p<0.05). 3) The non-neoplastic hepatic tissue of patients with serum HBsAg shows a tendency to have more kupffer cells than those without HBsAg.