2004 hepatite colestática associada ao vírus da hepatite c pós transplante hepático 11. apendices-mario guimaraes pessoa

APÊNDICE 2
POST-TRANSPLANT RECURRENT HEPATITIS C - IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL
DETECTION OF HCV CORE ANTIGEN AND POSSIBLE PATHOGENIC
IMPLICATIONS
Mario G Pessoa1
, Venancio AF Alves1, 2
, Alda Wakamatsu2
, Joaquim G
Gomes3
, G Maertens4
, B van der Borght4
, Michael Kim5
, Linda Ferrell5
, and
Teresa L Wright5
.
Department of Pathology, São Paulo University School of Medicine1
, Instituto
Adolfo Lutz2
São Paulo, Brazil; Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester,
USA; InnoGenetics, Ghent, Belgium4
; and Department of Medicine,
Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, University of California5
, San
Francisco, USA
Corresponding author:
Mário G. Pessôa, M.D.
Department of Pathology
São Paulo University School of Medicine
Av. Dr. Arnaldo 455 ZC: 01246-802
São Paulo – SP Brazil
Tel: 55-11-32552944; Fax: 55-11-30862007
Running Title: HCV immunohistochemistry and Liver Transplantation
Number of tables: 3
Number of figures: 5
Number of pages: 10
Abbreviation used:
bDNA: branched DNA assay; EIA: enzyme-linked immunoassay; HCV:
hepatitis C virus;
HVR: hypervariable region; PCR: polymerase chain reaction; FFPE: formalin-
fixed, paraffin embedded.

ABSTRACT
The mechanisms by which severe cholestatic hepatitis develops after liver
transplantation are not fully understood. Reports on immunohistochemical
distribution of HCV antigens are still scarce, but recently, HCV immunostaining was
suggested for early diagnosis of cholestatic forms of recurrent hepatitis C in liver
grafts. After purification, Rb246 pab anti-core (aa1-68) yielded specific, granular
cytoplasmic staining in hepatocytes. Signal amplification through Envision-Alkaline
Phosphatase System avoided endogenous biotin and peroxidase. Rb246 was
applied to liver samples of explants of 12 transplant recipients, 6 with the most
severe form of post-transplantation recurrence, severe cholestatic hepatitis (group
1) and 6 with mild recurrence (group 2). We also assessed immuno-reactivity at 2
time-points post-transplantation (7 mos and 17 mos) in both groups. HCV-core Ag
was semi-quantified from 0 to 3+ in each time-point. Serum HCV-RNA was also
measured on the different time-points by branched DNA. In the early post-transplant
time-point, 1 patient had a mild staining (1+) and 2 patients had a moderate staining
(2+) in group 1, compared to 5 patients with no staining (0) and 1 patient with mild
staining (1+) in group 2. Late post-transplant liver samples were available in 9
patients, and 2 out of 4 samples in group 1 showed a mild staining, compared with
no staining patients in 5 patients in group 2. Strikingly, on the explant samples, HCV
immunostaining was strongly positive in group 1, and mildly positive in group 2. Two
out of 5 samples showed 3+ staining, and 3 samples showed 2+ staining in group 1;
2 out of 5 samples showed no staining, 2 samples showed 1+ staining and 1 sample
showed 2+ staining in group 2. Serum HCV-RNA was significantly higher in group 1,
on both time-points post-transplantation. HCV-core Ag was not directly associated to
serum HCV-RNA on the different time-points. These preliminary results suggest that
strong HCV immunostaining in the explant is predictive of more severe disease
recurrence.
INTRODUCTION
Chronic HCV infection is the leading indication for liver transplantation, estimated at
35% to 45% 1. In that population, recurrent infection post-transplantation is almost

universal, with a 10- to 20-fold increase in levels of viremia2. The majority of
transplant recipients will develop histological evidence of disease due to recurrent
HCV infection, if followed for up to 5 years, with a significant proportion progressing
to chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis3;4;5;6;7. The natural history of HCV infection post-
transplantation is now beginning to be delineated, and we have limited
understanding of factors that influence disease progression. After transplantation,
the majority of patients evolve to a slowly progressive chronic hepatitis over a
period of months to years. Few patients however, develop severe cholestasis and
progressive hepatitis, frequently resulting in liver failure in a few months from the
diagnosis, associated with high mortality if no re-transplantation occurs, similar to
fibrosing cholestatic hepatitis B virus infection8;9;10. Cholestatic HCV seems to be a
disease of direct HCV cytopathic injury in the setting of extreme virus levels 11;12,
and lack of a specific HCV-directed response to acute hepatitis, induced by high
levels of immunosuppressors13.
Immunohistochemical detection of HCV antigens in liver tissue could potentially
provide important pathological information, making possible the correlation between
viral replication sites and tissue injury. However, mostly due to the scarcity of
reliable antibodies for detection of HCV antigens in formalin-fixed paraffin-
embedded (FFPE) sections, only limited studies have been performed on post-
transplant recurrent HCV disease. In a recent study, intrahepatic HCV antigen
expression was detected as early as 10 days post-transplantation in 25% of biopsy
specimens and within 3 weeks in 50% of specimens14. By the time histological
acute hepatitis is clinically overt, HCV core antigens can be detected in more than
90% of biopsy specimens14;15;16. Doughty et al., utilizing immunohistochemical
staining, with the commercial monoclonal antibody Tordji-22 (BioGenex, San
Ramon, CA) had demonstrated initially a strong correlation between the location of
HCV antigens and areas of liver injury, particularly regions of hepatocyte
ballooning. However, further testing controlling for the level of tissue damage
showed cross-reaction of this antibody with host epitopes present in non-HCV liver
transplant tissue with hepatocyte ballooning17.
The aim of this study was to examine whether HCV antigenic expression in liver
tissue of patients with recurrent HCV disease post-transplantation could correlate
with severity of the recurrence, comparing patients with severe cholestatic hepatitis
post-transplantation with matched controls with mild recurrent disease post-
transplantation. Immunohistochemical staining was performed using an Rb246

polyclonal anti-core antibody developed by InnoGenetics, Belgium on FFPE liver
tissue sections, and previously reported by Alves et al.18.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS
Study Groups:
Six patients who underwent liver transplantation for HCV-related end-stage liver
disease at University of California, San Francisco between 1988 and 1993 fulfilled
the diagnostic criteria for severe cholestatic hepatitis and were included in this
study. These patients evolved with the most severe form of post-transplantation
recurrence, severe cholestatic hepatitis (group 1), diagnosed by presence of
jaundice in the absence of extrahepatic obstruction and liver histology showing
severe centrizonal hepatocyte cholestasis and ballooning, confluent hepatocyte
necrosis, interface hepatitis, and bile ductular proliferation8. Five of these 6 patients
subsequently died of complications related to liver failure. Other six patients
evolved with mild recurrent disease post-transplantation (group 2), also evidenced
by their liver histology, showing grade 1 or 2 inflammation and stage 0 fibrosis19,
and served as the comparison group. The two previous groups were matched by
genotype (all genotype 1), type of immunosupression and length of follow-up. A
single pathologist (LF) evaluated all the biopsies. All patients had recurrent HCV
infection after transplantation, defined by the presence of viremia detected by
polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and by abnormal liver histology. All
patients received triple immunusuppression with ciclosporine, azathioprine, and
prednisone. The number of rejection episodes was similar between the 2 groups
(median {range} of 1 {0-2} for mild and 1 {0-2} for severe). All the patients were
anti-HCV and HCV-RNA positive pre and post-transplantation. All patients were
negative for HBsAg, anti-HBc IgM and anti-HIV and none of them received any
type of anti-viral treatment during the participation in the study. FFPE liver tissue
specimens were tested for HCV antigens using a polyclonal anti-core antibody
(Rb246) at three time points: pre-transplantation (the day of transplantation), and at
two time-points post-transplantation, initial (mean ± SD of 7 ± 4 and 7 ± 3 months
for mild and severe recurrence, respectively), and delayed (21 ± 7 and 26 ± 10
months for mild and severe recurrence, respectively). Serum samples at the same
three time points were tested for quantitation of HCV-RNA (by bDNA) for each
patient.

Methods:
HCV RNA Extraction and Amplification:
HCV RNA was extracted from 50µl of serum using phenol chloroform extraction
method as previously described20. Reversed transcription and polymerase chain
reaction (RT-PCR) were done in a single tube reaction of 50 µl using the primers
selected from the E2/HVR region (Sense 5’GGTGGCTCACTGGGGAGGTCCT3’
1366-1387), (Anti-sense 5’CATTGCAGTTCAGGGCAGTCCTG3’ 1587-1610)21.
This round of PCR yielded a 244-bp product. A second round of amplification was
done using 5 µl of the first reaction and the following primers: (Sense
5’TCCATGGTGGGGAACTGGGC3’ 1406-1426), (Anti-sense 5’TGCCAAC
TGCCATTGGTGTT3’ 1561-1581). The final product (approximately 176 bp) was
detected by electrophoresis on 2% agarose gel (Sigma, St. Louis, MO) containing
ethidium bromide at a concentration of 10 µg/mL.
HCV RNA Quantitation:
The level of HCV RNA was determined by employing branched DNA (b-DNA) signal
amplification assay (Quantiplex HCV-RNA b-DNA v.1.0, Chiron Corp. Emeryville
CA.). This assay is a sandwich hybridization oligonucleotide probe assay, which
targets 5’ untranslated and Core regions of HCV RNA. The viral quantitation limit for
this assay is 350,000 HCV RNA Eq./ml. The manufacturer’s standard b-DNA assay
protocol was followed.
HCV Genotyping:
HCV was genotyped by Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP)
analysis of the 5’ non-coding region (NCR) of the genome as previously
described22. Genotype classification was assigned as recommended by Simmonds
et al.23.
Immunohistochemical Staining:
Each FFPE sample was submitted to immunohistochemical assays for the HCV
core antigen, through a rabbit antiserum directed to a cocktail of synthetic peptides
encompassing immuno-dominant epitopes of the initial 68-aminoacid sequences of
the core region. After absorption with normal human liver powder, Rb246 pab anti-
core (aa1-68) yielded specific, granular cytoplasmic staining in hepatocytes. Signal
amplification through the Envision Alkaline Phosphatase Method avoided
endogenous biotin and peroxidase. Rb246 was applied to liver samples of explants
of 12 transplant recipients, 6 with severe cholestatic hepatitis (group 1) and 6 with

mild recurrence (group 2). Immuno-reactivity for HCV core Ag was also assessed
at 2 time-points post-transplantation: all 12 patients had liver biopsies at 6 months,
representing “early post-transplant period”, whereas 4 patients from group 1 and 5
patients from group 2 had available samples from liver biopsies at 2 years,
representing “late post-transplant period”. HCV-core Ag was semi-quantified by a
single pathologist (VAFA) from grade 0 to 3 in each time-point ( 1 +, <25% of the
hepatocytes in the section; 2 +, 26-50% and 3 +, >50%).
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS:
Continuous variables were described as median and range, and compared using
the Mann U Whitney test. Fischer’s exact test was used to compare categorical
samples, when appropriate. A P value of 0.05 was considered to be statistically
significant.
RESULTS:
1-Study population characteristics:
Biochemical, virological and histological characteristics of the study population are
shown in Table 1. Liver histology closest to the time of available serum is shown.
In the group with severe recurrence, liver histology evolved further such that with
delayed follow-up, injury was scored as a median grade 3 (range of 2-4) and stage
2 (range of 1-4). In three cases fibrosis scores were less marked, presumably
because the patients died before there was sufficient time to evolve to end-stage
fibrosis. At this time, peak bilirubin and ALT median levels were 29 mg/dl (range of
12.5-72 mg/dl) and 192 IU/L (range of 92 to 933 IU/L). Serum samples and
histology from these delayed time points were not analyzed since most patients
had begun antiviral therapy, which would confound the interpretation of results.
2- HCV-RNA Levels:
HCV-RNA levels are shown at different time-points in both groups in table 2. HCV
RNA levels were similar at the time of liver transplantation in both groups. HCV-RNA
levels were significantly higher in the group with severe recurrent hepatitis
compared to the group with mild recurrence at early post-transplantation follow-up
(p= 0.01). HCV RNA levels were similar in the late post-transplant follow-up in group
1 compared to group 2.

3- Immunohistochemistry:
Core Antigen of HCV was immunostained as fine granules in the cytoplasm of
hepatocytes. No nuclear staining was observed in any liver tissue specimen. The
results of immunohistochemical staining are shown in table 3. In the early post-
transplant time-point, 3 patients had no staining (0), 1 patient had a mild staining
(1+) and 2 patients had a moderate staining (2+) in group 1, compared to 5 patients
with no staining (0) and 1 patient with mild staining (1+) in group 2. Therefore,
patients in the severe cholestatic group presented, early in their post-tansplant
period, more positivity for HCV core antigens, although it did not reach statistical
significancy (P=0.09). Late post-transplant liver samples were available in 9
patients; a mild staining was found in 2 out of 4 samples available in group 1,
compared with no staining found in samples from 5 patients in group 2. Strikingly, on
the pre-transplant samples (explants), HCV immunostaining was strongly positive in
group 1 (who developed post-transplant severe cholestatic hepatits) and mildly
positive in group 2 (who developed mild recurrent disease). Two out of 5 samples
showed 3+ staining, and 3 samples showed 2+ staining in group 1; 2 out of 5
samples showed no staining, 2 samples showed 1+ staining and 1 sample showed
2+ staining in group 2. The presence of HCV core antigens in the explant was
significantly correlated with the severe outcome post-transplantation (P= 0.02), but
not correlated with pre-transplantation serum HCV-RNA quantitation, that was
similar in both groups.
Figure 1a shows the explant from one patient with severe recurrence; with
numerous hepatocytes presenting HCV core antigen granules in the cytoplasm (3+).
Figure 1b shows a detail depicting stronger staining in peri-septal hepatocytes.
Figure 1c shows the liver from the same patient with severe recurrence, 6 months
post-transplantation; immunohistochemical reaction for HCV core antigen was
negative. Figure 2a shows the explant from a patient with mild recurrence; with few
hepatocytes presenting HCV core antigen granules in the cytoplasm (1+). Figure 2b
shows liver biopsy from the same patient with mild recurrence, 21 months post-
transplantation; although morphology depicts chronic hepatitis,
immunohistochemical reaction for HCV core antigen was negative.

Discussion
The identification of HCV antigen in the liver was first reported in 199024. That
preliminary report was extended by specificity studies, which established the
association of HCV infection with hepatocellular HCV antigen. Several antibodies
have been described for the detection of HCV in liver biopsies. HCV antigen was
detected exclusively in the cytoplasm of hepatocytes in specimens obtained from
livers of patients with chronic HCV infection, with a detection rate of 23 to
100%25;26. In most of the liver specimens, the number of positive hepatocytes and
the intensity of staining were low.
The detection of immunodominant epitopes of the core antigen was reliably
confirmed in routine FFPE liver samples. Similar to what some of us had previously
reported in patients with chronic hepatitis C18, 29 cases (43,9%) of our HCV
samples were found positive, with no staining of any of the negative controls.
In the explants of patients who further developed severe cholestatic hepatitis post-
transplantation, HCV core antigen immunostaining was significantly higher
compared to matched controls, raising the possibility of a pre-transplant viral factor
predisposing to a severe post-transplant recurrence. Deshpande et al. had
demonstrated that high HCV RNA levels in native livers correlate with the
development of cholestatic hepatitis in liver allografts and a poor outcome27. The
most significant finding in their study was the ability to predict the development of
cholestatic hepatitis by measuring HCV RNA levels in the explanted livers. Six of 8
patients who developed cholestatic hepatitis had levels greater than 5,000
copies/µg compared with only one patient in the control group with non-cholestatic
recurrence. In a previous report from our group, the rate of detection of HCV core
antigen was parallel to the stage of liver disease18. Although less sensitive,
immunostaining of HCV core antigen was also a marker of viral replication, since
immunostaining was found in 27 of 67 (40.3%) HCV-RNA positive patients, but only
in 4 of 18 HCV-RNA negative patients. Although we did not measure HCV-RNA in
the liver, the detection of HCV core antigen in tissue may represent a less
expensive and time-consuming method of detection of HCV-RNA. These results
support our findings comparing HCV core antigen in the explants of patients with
severe cholestatic disease to controls, where the presence of a high HCV core
antigen immunostaining seems to identify patients with poor post-transplant
outcome.

The HCV core antigen immunostaining was less sensitive and weakly related to the
serum HCV-RNA quantitation post-transplantation, which was much higher in the
group with severe cholestatic recurrence. In the early post-transplant follow-up,
there was a trend toward a higher HCV core antigen immunostaining in the severe
cholestatic group, compatible to their greater HCV RNA levels in serum. In the late
post-transplant follow-up, although a higher HCV RNA level was present in serum,
we did not observe higher HCV core antigen immunostaining. However, the small
sample size at this time-point makes it difficult to derive any conclusion on the lack
of correlation between post-transplant HCV RNA levels in serum and HCV core
antigen in tissue.
In our series, pre-transplant HCV RNA levels in serum from patients who
developed severe cholestatic recurrence were not significantly higher compared to
matched controls with mild recurrence. However, post-transplantation, HCV RNA
levels were progressively higher in the group with severe cholestatic hepatitis
compared to controls. Several studies have investigated the relationship between
pre- and post-transplant serum HCV RNA levels and the development of graft
recurrent hepatitis in the graft. Charlton et al.6. showed that patients with pre-
transplant HCV RNA levels in serum greater than 1x 106
Eq/mL, had a poor post-
transplant graft survival. Additionally, Doughty et al.11. and Zervos et al.28. both had
shown greater serum pre- and post-transplant HCV RNA levels in patients who
developed cholestatic hepatitis post-transplantation compared to controls. The last
two studies supported our results of progressive HCV RNA levels in patients who
developed recurrent severe cholestatic hepatitis in the graft, suggesting cytopathic
mechanisms in the pathogenicity of this syndrome.
In conclusion, this preliminary study suggests that strong HCV immunostaining in
the explant is predictive of more severe disease recurrence post-transplantation,
and can earlier identify patients suitable for antiviral therapy, thus potentially
preventing the development of severe recurrence.
References:
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2. Berenguer M. Natural history of recurrent hepatitis C. Liver Transpl 2002; 8(10
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3. Testa G, Crippin JS, Netto GJ, et al. Liver transplantation for hepatitis C:
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following liver transplantation: increase in recent years. J Hepatol 2000;
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6. Charlton M, Seaberg E, Wiesner R, et al. Predictors of patient and graft survival
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8. Taga SA, Washington MK, Terrault N, et al. Cholestatic hepatitis C in liver
allografts. Liver Transpl Surg 1998; 4(4):304-310.
9. Schluger LK, Sheiner PA, Thung SN, et al. Severe recurrent cholestatic hepatitis
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11. Doughty AL, Spencer JD, Cossart YE, McCaughan GW. Cholestatic hepatitis
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virus RNA levels. Liver Transpl Surg 1998; 4(1):15-21.
12. Pessoa MG, Bzowej N, Berenguer M, et al. Evolution of hepatitis C virus
quasispecies in patients with severe cholestatic hepatitis after liver
transplantation. Hepatology 1999; 30(6):1513-1520.
13. Rosen HR, Hinrichs DJ, Gretch DR, et al. Association of multispecific CD4(+)
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15. Guerrero RB, Batts KP, Burgart LJ, et al. Early detection of hepatitis C allograft
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virus replication following liver transplantation. Gastroenterology 1996;
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antibody Tordji-22 for the detection of hepatitis C virus in liver transplant
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Table 1. Biochemical, histological and virological features of study groups
Patients Severe
Recurrence
Group 1 (N=6)
Mild Recurrence
Group 2 (N=6)
Genotype 1a,1a, 1a
1b,1b, 1b
1a, 1a, 1
1b,1b, 1b
Histology
Early follow-up
Grade of
inflammation
Stage of fibrosis
1 (0-2)
0 (0-1)
1 (0-1)
0
Late follow-up*
Grade of
inflammation
Stage of fibrosis
3 (0-4)
1 (0-3)
1 (1-2)
0
Liver biochemistry
Pre-transplantation
Bilirubin (mg/dL)
Serum ALT (IU/L)
3.2 (1.3-31.5)
72 (21-300)
2.0 (0.8-2.6)
156 (31-257)
Post-transplantation
Late follow-up*
Bilirubin (mg/dL)
Serum ALT (IU/L)
3.4 (1.1-13.3)
126 (61-276)
0.9 (0.5-1.6)
78 (41-244)
Abbreviations: NA = not available; all values are presented as the median
and range

*
Histology and biochemical analysis prior to any antiviral therapy is shown.
Further histological and biochemical progression was observed in patients
with severe recurrence (see text).
Table 2. HCV-RNA Quantitation in different groups
Patients Severe Recurrence
Group 1 (N=6)
Mild Recurrence
Group 2 (N=6)
HCV RNA (MEq/mL)
Pre-transplantation 0.53 (0.2-9.1) 0.76 (0.2-2.9)
Early post-
transplantation follow-up
24.8 (3.9-1446)* 3.5 (0.4-3.7)*
Late post-transplantation
follow-up 11.9 (0.2-12.7) 14.3 (0.2-41.0)
Comparison of HCV RNA at the early post transplantation follow-up - mild versus
severe disease, P=0.01.
Table 3. HCV core antigens distribution in liver tissue among groups
Severe Recurrence
Group 1 (N=6)
Mild Recurrence
Group 2 (N=6)
Time-Point Grade* 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3
Explant (N) 0 0 3 2 2 2 1 0
Early post-
transplantation
follow-up (N)♣
3 0 3 0 5 1 0 0
Late post-
transplantation
follow-up (N)
2 2 0 0 5 0 0 0
*Grade 0 meaning no HCV core Ag detected; grade 1 ≤ 25% of the hepatocytes
in the section; grade 2 = 26-50%; and grade 3 > 50%.
P= 0.02
♣P=0.06

2004 hepatite colestática associada ao vírus da hepatite c pós transplante hepático 11. apendices-mario guimaraes pessoa

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2004 hepatite colestática associada ao vírus da hepatite c pós transplante hepático 11. apendices-mario guimaraes pessoa