Altered Coronal Tissue of the Human Dental Pulp in Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infected Patients

IntroductionHepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is characterized by a high rate of chronicity and concerns 170 million individuals worldwide. Extrahepatic manifestations are frequently observed in patients with chronic viral hepatitis. Although extrahepatic manifestations do exist with all hepatitis viruses, they are more commonly associated with chronic HCV infection. This study aimed to evaluate qualitatively and quantitatively the effect of chronic HCV infection on the coronal tissue of the human dental pulp.MethodsThirty sound impacted teeth were obtained from healthy individuals as healthy controls. The patient group included another 30 sound impacted teeth obtained from chronic HCV–infected patients. The coronal pulp tissues were carefully removed, fixed, and processed to be stained with hematoxylin-eosin, alcian blue (2.5)/periodic acid–Schiff, van Gieson, and fibronectin.ResultsThe tissue sections of chronic HCV patients revealed disorganized pulp tissue, chronic inflammatory cell infiltrate, thickening, stenosis and occlusion of large-sized blood vessel arteriole, and collapsed venule and lymphatic system. The acidic, neutral, and mixed mucins were increased, whereas the amount of collagen was decreased, accompanied with marked decrease in the distribution and quantity of fibronectin glycoprotein. Application of Kruskal-Wallis test showed that there were statistically significant changes between the 2 groups (P ≤ .05).ConclusionsThe coronal tissue of the dental pulp, like any other body tissues, is affected by chronic HCV infection, with an inappropriate cellularity, vasculature, and extracellular matrix proteins. The clinician should be alerted to these histologic changes and their subsequent implications.