A 40-year-old man with chronic liver disease undergoes liver biopsy which shows 'ground-glass hepatocytes'. Immunostaining of these cells would most likely be positive for:

• A Hepatitis C core antigen
• B Hepatitis D antigen
• C Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen (EBNA)
• D Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) ✓

Explanation

Ground-glass hepatocytes are a classic histological finding of chronic Hepatitis B infection; they represent hepatocytes packed with endoplasmic reticulum accumulating large amounts of HBsAg. Immunostaining confirms HBsAg positivity. Hepatitis C does not produce ground-glass cells. Hepatitis D is a defective virus requiring HBsAg for assembly. EBV causes infectious mononucleosis and lymphomas, not ground-glass hepatocyte changes.

Reference: Ananthanarayan & Paniker's Textbook of Microbiology, 11th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.