Non-specific reactive hepatitis in dolphins stranded in the Canary Islands

Abstract

This paper describes the features of non-specific reactive hepatitis (NSRH) in dolphins stranded on the coast of the Canary Islands (Spain). The histological appearance of NSRH was marked by the proliferation of Kupffer cells and the presence of granulocytes, plus lymphocytes and plasma cells scattered throughout the liver parenchyma and in the portal or perivenular stroma, without or with minimal evidence of hepatocyte necrosis. NSRH was composed of inflammatory infiltration of CD3(+) T-lymphocytes and IgG(+) plasma cells in the portal spaces and hepatic sinusoids. The anti-S100 protein polyclonal antibody reacted with a variable number of lymphocytes from the portal areas and hepatic sinusoids and with Kupffer cells and the epithelial cells of the bile ducts.