Question

Chronic Alcoholic patient with history of increasing abdominal girth . On liver biopsy there are reddish inclusions . What are these made up of

• A. Actin
• B. Microtubules
• C. Intermediate filaments
• D. Myofibril

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

The scenario describes a chronic alcoholic patient with an increasing abdominal girth, indicating potential liver damage often associated with alcoholism, leading to cirrhosis or alcoholic hepatitis. The mention of reddish inclusions found in a liver biopsy is crucial for diagnosis.

The reddish inclusions in the liver biopsy of such patients are known as Mallory bodies (or Mallory-Denk bodies). These are eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusions found in the liver cells and are characteristic of alcoholic liver disease. Mallory bodies are primarily composed of tangled filaments of proteins.

These protein aggregates are made up of:

• Intermediate filaments, more specifically keratin 8 and 18, along with other protein components.

The presence of these intermediate filament aggregates is a pathological hallmark associated with chronic alcoholic liver disease.

In summary, the reddish inclusions (Mallory bodies) observed in the liver biopsy are made up of intermediate filaments, which is consistent with the patient's history of chronic alcohol consumption.