CD14 upregulation as a distinct feature of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease after pancreatoduodenectomy

Figure 3 Number of cells positive for CD68 (a marker of Kupffer cells) and CD14 (a marker of lipopolysaccharide-sensitized Kupffer cells). Conventional fatty liver and fatty liver after pancreatoduodenectomy (PD), in conventional non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and in NASH after PD. For simple steatosis, mean counts of CD68+ and CD14+ cells were 51.0 ± 6.8 and 0.4 ± 0.2 cells per individual in conventional fatty liver specimens, respectively, and 116.0 ± 10.7 and 20.5 ± 2.5 cells per individual, respectively, in fatty liver after PD specimens. This indicates more Kupffer cells and more lipopolysaccharide-sensitized Kupffer cells in simple fatty liver after PD specimens than in conventional simple fatty liver specimens (^bP < 0.001; ^dP < 0.001). Regarding NASH, mean cell counts for CD68+ cells and CD14+ cells were 50.2 ± 7.4 and 0.8 ± 0.6 cells per individual, respectively, in conventional NASH specimens, and 92.5 ± 19.5 and 6.5 ± 0.5 cells per individual, respectively, in NASH after PD specimens. This showed that more Kupffer cells and more LPS-sensitized Kupffer cells were present in NASH after PD specimens than in conventional NASH specimens (^aP < 0.05; ^cP < 0.05).