Vacuolation in hepatocyte nuclei is a marker of senescence.

Aravinthan, Aloysious; Verma, Suman; Coleman, Nick; Davies, Susan; Allison, Michael; Alexander, Graeme

Abstract

Hepatocyte nuclear vacuolation is considered benign and associated with non-alcohol-related fatty liver disease. Vacuolated hepatocyte nuclei were compared with non-vacuolated hepatocyte nuclei in eight patients with advanced fibrosis and a spectrum of liver disease to explore the hypothesis that such nuclei represent senescence. Age- and sex-matched liver donors served as normal tissue. In normal liver <0.01% hepatocytes showed nuclear vacuolation. In contrast, nuclear vacuolation was present in all patients with liver disease, ranging from 0.1% to 11.7% hepatocytes, irrespective of the aetiology of liver disease and independent of insulin resistance. There was a close association between nuclear vacuolation and increased nuclear area, p21 expression, γH2AX expression and the absence of Mcm-2, consistent with senescence and cell cycle arrest. Nuclear vacuolation in hepatocytes is a marker of senescence and likely to be a consequence of liver injury, unrelated to insulin resistance.

Citation

Aravinthan, A., Verma, S., Coleman, N., Davies, S., Allison, M., & Alexander, G. (2012). Vacuolation in hepatocyte nuclei is a marker of senescence. Journal of Clinical Pathology, 65(6), 557-560. https://doi.org/10.1136/jclinpath-2011-200641

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 15, 2012
• Online Publication Date: May 19, 2012
• Publication Date: Mar 23, 2012
• Deposit Date: Jul 8, 2025
• Print ISSN: 0021-9746
• Electronic ISSN: 1472-4146
• Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 65
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 557-560
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/jclinpath-2011-200641
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/23499674
• Publisher URL: https://jcp.bmj.com/content/65/6/557
• PMID: 22447919