Hepatic giant cells in hepatitis C virus (HCV) mono-infection and HCV/HIV co-infection

Leishmania donovani and HIV co-infection in vitro: Identification and characterization of main molecular players

The incidence of Leishmania/HIV co-infection is growing and few studies detail the cellular processes and macromolecules participating in co-infection. Thus, the goal of this study was to partially describe the Leishmania/HIV co-infection events by measuring molecular and functional parameters associated with both pathogens in vitro. MT-4 cells (human T-lymphocytes), primary monocytes, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells were exposed to HIV and/or Leishmania donovani. The cytopathic effects generated by the pathogens were observed through microscopy. Viral replication was assessed by monitoring p24 protein levels and parasitic proliferation/infectivity was determined using Giemsa staining. Changes in molecular markers were evaluated by ELISA and fluorescence assays. Our results showed that our system reassembles the main parameters previously described for Leishmania/HIV co-infection in patients in terms of potentiation of parasitic and viral replication/infectivity, amplification of syncytia induction, and alterations of cell viability. In addition, an amplification in NF-κB activation, changes in CXCR4/CCR5 surface expression, and a Th1→Th2 variation in cytokine/chemokine secretion were demonstrated. Altogether, this study could contribute to gain a deep understanding of the molecular events associated with Leishmania/HIV co-infection.

Autoimmune post-infantile giant cell hepatitis: a case report and review of the literature

Giant cell hepatitis (GCH) is a rare entity in adults that is characterized by large multinucleated hepatocyte formation and parenchymal inflammation. We present a case of acute liver failure in a 33-year-old woman secondary to autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). A liver biopsy revealed submassive hepatocyte necrosis consistent with GCH. We conducted a literature review of 187 reported cases of post-infantile GCH in adults. AIH was the most commonly reported cause of GCH, but GCH was associated with a wide spectrum of etiologies, including infections, rheumatological diseases, hematological diseases, malignancies, and medications. The severity of disease can range from mild hepatitis to fulminant hepatic failure. The mortality rate among the cases in the literature was 18.82%. GCH is managed by treating the underlying cause, and ribavirin has been proposed as a treatment option for idiopathic GCH. A small number of patients progress to requiring orthotopic liver transplant, but recurrence is possible post-transplant.

Virus-Mediated Cell-Cell Fusion

Cell-cell fusion between eukaryotic cells is a general process involved in many physiological and pathological conditions, including infections by bacteria, parasites, and viruses. As obligate intracellular pathogens, viruses use intracellular machineries and pathways for efficient replication in their host target cells. Interestingly, certain viruses, and, more especially, enveloped viruses belonging to different viral families and including human pathogens, can mediate cell-cell fusion between infected cells and neighboring non-infected cells. Depending of the cellular environment and tissue organization, this virus-mediated cell-cell fusion leads to the merge of membrane and cytoplasm contents and formation of multinucleated cells, also called syncytia, that can express high amount of viral antigens in tissues and organs of infected hosts. This ability of some viruses to trigger cell-cell fusion between infected cells as virus-donor cells and surrounding non-infected target cells is mainly related to virus-encoded fusion proteins, known as viral fusogens displaying high fusogenic properties, and expressed at the cell surface of the virus-donor cells. Virus-induced cell-cell fusion is then mediated by interactions of these viral fusion proteins with surface molecules or receptors involved in virus entry and expressed on neighboring non-infected cells. Thus, the goal of this review is to give an overview of the different animal virus families, with a more special focus on human pathogens, that can trigger cell-cell fusion.

Giant Cell Hepatitis - A Rare Association with Connective Tissue Disease

A 68-year-old gentleman presented to hepatology department with asymptomatic year-long history of stably deranged liver function tests. His peak alkaline phosphatase (ALP), was 828 with alanine transaminase (ALT) of 141. Full liver workup was negative; hence, a liver biopsy was organised, which confirmed giant cell hepatitis (GCH). A computed tomography (CT) scan revealed non-specific interstitial pneumonitis (NSIP) pattern interstitial lung disease supported by lung function tests. Antibody testing showed strongly positive antinuclear antibody (ANA) with anti-polymyositis/scleroderma (anti-PM-SCL) antibody. Clinical picture was in keeping with likely undifferentiated connective tissue disease (UCTD) with polyarthralgia, early morning stiffness, Raynaud's and nailfold infarcts with capillaritis on nail bed examination. Further testing confirmed triple-positive antiphospholipid antibodies twice 12 weeks apart (immunoglobulin M [IgM] anti beta-2 glycoprotein antibodies, lupus anticoagulant and IgM anticardiolipin antibody). He was treated with mycophenolate and hydroxychloroquine with resolution of symptoms. Giant cell hepatitis is uncommon, with only 100 cases reported worldwide. To our knowledge, this is the only report of GCH in the context of UCTD, highlighting the significance of careful evaluation of liver disease overlap and the successful role of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) in this setting.

Post-infantile giant cell hepatitis: A single center’s experience over 25 years

BACKGROUND

Giant cell hepatitis in the adult population remains very poorly defined with only 100 case reports published in the literature over the last three decades.

AIM

To present our center’s experience in an attempt to learn about the predisposing factors, outcomes and efficacy of proposed therapeutic interventions for giant cell hepatitis.

METHODS

A retrospective chart review was conducted through the electronic records of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. We queried 36726 liver biopsy reports from January 1, 1991 to December 6, 2016. Our search yielded 50 patients who were identified as carrying a definite diagnosis of post-infantile giant cell hepatitis (PIGCH) by pathology. The data collected included demographic information, laboratory data (liver function tests, autoimmune markers) and transplant status. In order to better analyze patient characteristics and outcomes, subjects were separated into a non-transplant (native) liver group and a post-liver transplant (allograft) group.

RESULTS

The incidence of PIGCH was approximately 0.14% of all biopsies queried in the 25-year period. The mean age was 48 years with 66% females. Liver function tests were classified as 38.2% cholestatic, 35.3% hepatocellular and 26.5% mixed. Autoimmune hepatitis was found to be the most prevalent predisposing factor leading to PIGCH constituting 32% of cases. Management consisted mainly of immunosuppression, viral targeted therapy, supportive care and in six cases liver transplantations.

CONCLUSION

The diagnosis of PIGCH remains clinically challenging and requires a high index of suspicion as well as a thorough history, physical examination, serological workup and liver biopsy. Treatment of the underlying cause can result in clinical stability in a large number of cases.

Management of giant cell hepatitis associated with chronic lymphocytic leukemia - a case series and review of the literature

Giant cell hepatitis (GCH) is a rare diagnosis in adults that is found in 0.25% of liver biopsies. GCH has been associated with multiple causes including drugs (6-mercaptopurine, methotrexate), toxins, viruses and autoimmune. GCH has been described in few patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Here we describe three patients diagnosed with GCH thought to be related to underlying CLL and its management. All of our patients were treated with a combination of immunosuppression as well as CLL-directed therapy to address CLL and concomitant liver disease. GCH is a rare manifestation of active CLL and should be ruled out with prompt liver biopsy in patients with CLL with persistent transaminitis without another attributable cause. Prompt treatment of GCH with immunosuppression is required to prevent long-term liver toxicity. If transaminitis does not improve with immunosuppression alone, the addition of CLL directed therapy should be considered in patients who carry this diagnosis to prevent long-term liver toxicity.

Postinfantile Giant Cell Hepatitis with Features of Acute Severe Autoimmune Hepatitis Probably Triggered by Diclofenac in a Patient with Primary Myelofibrosis

Giant cell hepatitis (GCH) is commonly reported in neonatal and infantile liver diseases but rarely in adults where the term postinfantile GCH (PIGCH) is used. PIGCH is associated with many diseases, including drugs toxicity, viruses, and autoimmune liver diseases, with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) being the most prevalent. We present a case of PIGCH in a 76-year-old female without known history of liver disease who suffered from an acute severe episode of hepatitis. After careful exclusion of other hepatitis causes by imaging, virological, immunological, and microbiological investigations, a diagnosis of acute severe AIH (AS-AIH) was established. The patient was started on corticosteroids but she did not respond and died 3 days later because of advanced acute liver failure. Postmortem liver biopsy showed typical PIGCH lesions. Physicians must keep this catastrophic entity in mind in cases of unexplained acute liver injury as, contrary to our case, prompt rescue therapy with corticosteroids may be life-saving.

Syncytial giant cell hepatitis in a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia

While it commonly occurs in the pediatric population, syncytial giant cell hepatitis is rare in adults, which is diagnosed histologically by the presence of multinucleated cells in the liver. The literature has recorded only approximately one hundred cases in adults during the past two decades in whom malignancy is rarely associated with giant cell hepatitis. Our patient is a 66-year-old woman who was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and subsequently developed syncytial giant cell hepatitis. This disease is usually linked to virus infection, autoimmune diseases, and drug medications. The association between CLL and giant cell hepatitis is rare, with only three cases reported. In most cases viral particles on electron microscopy are reported and the patients usually have a history of chemotherapy and hypogammaglobulinemia. Unlike such cases, our patient developed giant cell hepatitis in the absence of such confounding variables. The treatment for our patient was a high-dose corticosteroid and rituxan, with improvement in liver enzymes.

Giant cell hepatitis with autoimmune hemolytic anemia in children: proposal for therapeutic approach

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Giant cell hepatitis (GCH) with autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) is a rare, progressive disorder in infants and young children. The disease is aggressive and may lead to liver or multiorgan failure with fatal prognosis. Therapy with anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, rituximab (Rtx), proved effective. The primary objective of the study was to evaluate therapy for severe GCH with AIHA.

METHODS

We report on 5 cases of severe GCH with AIHA treated in our department between 2006 and 2011.

RESULTS

The median age of the children was 7 months (2-12 months), follow-up lasted 44 months (12-78 months), median (min-max), and the main observed symptoms were jaundice and hepatosplenomegaly. All of the children had positive direct Coombs test and biopsy-proven giant cell transformation of hepatocytes. Liver failure was observed in 3 children. First-line therapy (prednisone, azathioprine) proved ineffective in all but 1 of the patients, who initially responded to the treatment but relapsed after 4 months. The child subsequently developed hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis and died 2 months after hemopoietic stem cell transplantation. Four remaining patients finally achieved complete remission after 4 to 6 doses of Rtx.

CONCLUSIONS

We propose Rtx as the treatment of choice for severe GCH with AIHA in the early stages of the disease, provided steroids and azathioprine are ineffective.

Postinfantile giant cell hepatitis: an etiological and prognostic perspective

Giant cell hepatitis is common manifestation in pediatric liver diseases, but quite uncommon in adults, only about 100 cases reported in the English literature in the last two decades. Data for the present review were identified by a structured PubMed/MEDLINE search from 1963 to December 2012, using keywords postinfantile giant cell hepatitis (PIGCH), adult giant cell hepatitis, and syncytial giant cell hepatitis in adults and liver. We report a case of postinfantile giant cell hepatitis along with the review related to the etiology and respective outcome, as the literature in the last 20 years suggests. This condition is probably due to idiosyncratic or cytopathic response of individual to various hepatocytic stimuli. It is purely a histomorphological diagnosis and does not establish the etiology. Autoimmune liver diseases are most common etiology, in around 40% of cases, but various viruses, drugs, posttransplant condition, and other causes also have been reported. Prognosis depends upon the etiology. In this paper, we emphasized various causative factors of PIGCH and their respective outcome in patients affected by them. We also highlighted the possible pathogenesis and histopathological spectrum of this entity on the basis of description given in various studies and our limited experience of few cases.

Two cases of giant cell hepatitis in HIV-infected patients

Giant cell hepatitis (GCH) has been rarely described in adult HIV patients, and its outcome remain unknown. We report two cases of GCH among 81 HIV patients co-infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Both patients had a sustained virological response, suppression of HCV viral load and HIV viral suppression after highly active antiretroviral therapy. Our findings would suggest that the presence of giant cells does not influence the clinical course of hepatitis.

Recurrent hepatitis C and acute allograft rejection: clinicopathologic features with emphasis on the differential diagnosis between these entities

Chronic hepatitis C virus infection is the leading etiology for liver transplantation in the United States. Recurrent hepatitis C occurs nearly universally in these patients and represents a serious posttransplantation complication. Despite the detailed characterization of the histologic features of both recurrent hepatitis C and acute cellular rejection (ACR) over the last decades, the pathologic distinction between these 2 conditions remains one of the greatest diagnostic challenges in liver pathology. An accurate diagnosis, nevertheless, plays an essential role in patient management, as different therapeutic strategies are used for these conditions. In this review, the clinicopathologic features of posttransplantation recurrent hepatitis C and ACR are discussed, with emphasis on distinguishing histopathologic features, morphologic variants, ancillary techniques, and diagnostic pitfalls.

Giant cell hepatitis with autoimmune hemolytic anemia in early childhood: long-term outcome in 16 children

OBJECTIVE

To assess the outcome of giant cell hepatitis combined with autoimmune hemolytic anemia in early childhood.

STUDY DESIGN

We report on 16 children with this disease evaluated over a 28-year period.

RESULTS

Children (nine boys; median age, 6 months) presented with jaundice, hepatomegaly, elevated aminotransferases, a positive Coombs test, and diffuse giant-cell transformation of hepatocytes on histology. Treatment with prednisone and azathioprine, plus, in three children, cyclosporine, resulted in complete remission in eight, partial remission in six, and failure in two. Relapses of hepatitis and/or anemia occurred in 11 and 10 children, respectively, requiring prolonged high levels of immunosuppression, and splenectomy or Rituximab, respectively. Treatment was stopped after a mean duration of 6 years, with no relapse, in seven children, with a median follow-up of 14 years. One child is alive 9 years after liver transplantation. Four children died of sepsis or multiple organ failure.

CONCLUSIONS

Giant cell hepatitis combined with autoimmune hemolytic anemia requires rigorous treatment. Immunosuppressive therapy results in remission in most cases. A complete cure can be expected after several years of intensive treatment. Liver transplantation may be associated with prolonged survival.

Hepatic expression of cell proliferation markers and growth factors in giant cell hepatitis: implications for the pathogenetic mechanisms involved

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study is to determine whether amitotic division or nuclear proliferation is involved in the formation of giant cells (GCs) in giant cell hepatitis (GCH).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Liver sections from 18 pediatric patients with idiopathic infantile GCH and 12 patients with postinfantile GCH were evaluated for the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and human histone 3 (H3) mRNA, transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-α), TGF-β1, hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR).

RESULTS

Proliferation markers were detected in 1% to 80% in the nuclei of GC and non-GC hepatocytes in 10 of 18 (56%) infantile GCH biopsies and 11 of 12 (92%) postinfantile GCH biopsies, but not in normal liver. The expression of proliferation markers in GCs paralleled that in non-GC hepatocytes (P < 0.05 for both markers). TGF-α and EGFR were detected in both GCs (9/29 and 4/30 patients with infantile or postinfantile GCH, respectively) and non-GC hepatocytes (15/29 and 11/30 patients with infantile or postinfantile GCH, respectively). TGF-β1 and HGF were detected mainly in sinusoidal cells in 20 of 29 and 10 of 30 patients with infantile or postinfantile GCH, respectively; the expression of HGF was positively correlated with PCNA and H3 mRNA in non-GC hepatocytes and with H3 mRNA in GCs (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Hepatic expressions of nuclear proliferation markers and growth factors were similar in infantile and postinfantile GCH, nuclear proliferation markers were detected in both GCs and non-GC hepatocytes in a high proportion of patients, and expression of HGF correlated positively with the proliferation markers. These data indicate that nuclear proliferation may contribute to the pathogenesis of GCs in at least a proportion of patients with GCH. A model for the pathogenesis of GCH is proposed.

A case of adult autoimmune hepatitis with histological features of giant cell hepatitis

Giant cell hepatitis is rare in adult patients. This form of hepatitis shows fast progression to cirrhosis. A 65-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with jaundice. She was negative for hepatitis virus markers and positive for antinuclear antibodies. We diagnosed her as autoimmune hepatitis. Liver biopsy findings revealed typical features of interface hepatitis and giant cell hepatitis. Giant cells were positive for keratin 8/18, but not for keratin 19, keratin 7 or Ki-67. These results suggest that giant cell formation is associated with the fusion of matured hepatocytes rather than the active proliferation of immature cells.