A 40-year-old man complains of a 2-week history of increasing abdominal pain and yellow discoloration of his sclera. Physical examination reveals right upper quadrant pain. Laboratory studies show elevated serum levels of alkaline phosphatase (520 U/dL) and bilirubin (3.0 mg/dL). A liver biopsy shows portal fibrosis, with scattered foreign bodies consistent with schistosome eggs. Which of the following inflammatory cells is most likely to predominate in the portal tracts in the liver of this patient?
Eosinophils. Eosinophils are recruited in parasitic infestations and would be expected to predominate in the portal tracts of the liver in patients with schistosomiasis. Eosinophils contain leukotrienes and platelet-activating factor, as well as acid phosphatase and eosinophil major basic protein. Plasma cells (choice E) are differentiated B lymphocytes that secrete large amounts of monospecific immunoglobulin.Diagnosis: Schistosomiasis, eosinophils
Basophils
Eosinophils
Macrophages
Monocytes
Inflammation & Repair