Cytokeratin 7 staining of hepatocytes predicts progression to more severe fibrosis in alcohol-fed baboons.

Background/aims: Not all alcoholic patients develop severe liver disease with fibrosis progressing to cirrhosis. It is of practical importance to determine whether some markers can predict progression of liver fibrosis.

Methods: We used a baboon model that mimics human alcoholic liver disease. Cytokeratin 7 and 19 expression and fat deposition were investigated in serial liver biopsies of 18 animals undergoing prolonged alcohol administration (range 2-17 years) and in four controls. Fibrosis was graded histologically and was also assessed quantitatively by image analysis.

Results: Ten animals did not show a progression of liver disease even after 17 years of alcohol administration, but eight animals fed alcohol exhibited a progression of liver disease from no fibrosis or perivenular fibrosis to septal fibrosis or cirrhosis within 7 years. In normal liver, cytokeratin 7 and cytokeratin 19 immunostaining is restricted to bile duct cells. Hepatocellular cytokeratin 7 was observed only in those animals which progressed to more severe stages of fibrosis and it anticipated this progression by 4.2 years on average.

Conclusions: In alcohol-fed baboons, cytokeratin 7 staining of hepatocytes (but not cytokeratin 19, nor fat deposition) predicts with a high degree of sensitivity and specificity progression to more severe liver disease.