[Primary study on Fas-mediated apoptosis in the liver tissue of patients with chronic hepatitis B].

Apoptosis may be the cause of cell death that activate gene due to certain factors. It has been suggested that apoptosis is mediated through Fas antigen. To evaluate the role of the Fas antigen and apoptosis in chronic hepatitis B (CHB), we observed the Fas expression and nuclear DNA fragement in CHB hepatic tissue using immunohistochemistry and TUNEL method respectively. The results showed that the Fas antigen expressing cells located mainly in inflammation infiltrating area but less in non-inflammation infiltrating area; the positive cells were found particularly among infiltrating lymphocytes at the advancing edges of "piecemeal necrosis" near the portal regions. The expression of Fas was detected mainly in the cytoplasm of hepatocytes. 46 samples from 56 CHB patients were Fas positive, the posive rate reached 82%. The Linear Correlation and Regression analysis suggested that there was a direct correlation between nuclear DNA fragement and Fas expression. These findings suggest that the apoptosis mediated through Fas antigen may play an important role in pathogenesis of CHB.