Hepatic sinusoidal endothelium: Ulex lectin binding

The sinusoidal endothelial cells of human liver can be identified by light and electron microscopy, but there appear to be no specific immunocytochemical markers of these cells. Among specific markers available for vascular endothelial cells in general, Ulex europaeus I lectin (UEA I) is the most sensitive. In the present study, 37 liver biopsies were examined for UEA I binding and for Factor VIII related antigen (F VIII RAg) to determine if sinusoidal endothelial cells were positive. The material included normal liver, biopsies from patients with cirrhosis and biopsies in a variety of other liver diseases. Three embryonal human livers were also included in the immunocytochemical analysis. Eleven oesophageal rings obtained at mechanical transection for variceal bleeding in cirrhotic patients were used as control tissue. Sinusoidal endothelial cells of normal liver did not stain with UEA I, but six of seven with alcoholic cirrhosis and only one of 25 non-cirrhotic liver specimens (a case of acute hepatitis with bridging necrosis) were positive. In two of the six cirrhoses the sinusoidal endothelial cells were stained for F VIII RAg as well. Embryonal sinusoidal endothelial cells were stained with UEA I but were negative for F VIII RAg. The results of the study confirm that sinusoidal endothelial cells of normal adult human liver are phenotypically different from those lining blood vessels in other sites. In cirrhosis, positive staining may be related to the transformation of hepatic sinusoids into true capillaries and thus be a marker of the severity of physiological disturbance in the liver.