In histo

Histology

Histology is the study of the microscopic anatomy of cells and tissues of plants and animals. It is performed by examining cells and tissues commonly by sectioning and staining; followed by examination under a light microscope or electron microscope...

pathology

Pathology

Pathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....

, a Mallory body, Mallory-Denk body, and Mallory's hyaline, is an inclusion

Inclusion bodies

Inclusion bodies are nuclear or cytoplasmic aggregates of stainable substances, usually proteins. They typically represent sites of viral multiplication in a bacterium or a eukaryotic cell and usually consist of viral capsid proteins...

 found in the cytoplasm

Cytoplasm

The cytoplasm is a small gel-like substance residing between the cell membrane holding all the cell's internal sub-structures , except for the nucleus. All the contents of the cells of prokaryote organisms are contained within the cytoplasm...

 of liver cells.

Associated conditions

Mallory bodies are classically found in the liver

Liver

The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...

s of people suffering from alcoholic

Alcoholism

Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...

 liver disease and were once thought to be specific

Specificity

Specificity may refer to:* Being specific * Specificity , the proportion of negatives in a binary classification test which are correctly identified...

 for that.

They are most common in alcoholic hepatitis

Alcoholic hepatitis

Alcoholic hepatitis is hepatitis due to excessive intake of alcohol. While distinct from cirrhosis, it is regarded as the earliest stage of alcoholic liver disease. Symptoms are jaundice, ascites , fatigue and hepatic encephalopathy...

 (prevalence

Prevalence

In epidemiology, the prevalence of a health-related state in a statistical population is defined as the total number of cases of the risk factor in the population at a given time, or the total number of cases in the population, divided by the number of individuals in the population...

 of 65%) and alcoholic cirrhosis (prevalence of 51%).

They are a recognized feature of Wilson's disease

Wilson's disease

Wilson's disease or hepatolenticular degeneration is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder in which copper accumulates in tissues; this manifests as neurological or psychiatric symptoms and liver disease...

 (25%), primary biliary cirrhosis

Primary biliary cirrhosis

Primary biliary cirrhosis, often abbreviated PBC, is an autoimmune disease of the liver marked by the slow progressive destruction of the small bile ducts within the liver. When these ducts are damaged, bile builds up in the liver and over time damages the tissue. This can lead to scarring,...

 (24%), non-alcoholic cirrhosis (24%), hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common type of liver cancer. Most cases of HCC are secondary to either a viral hepatitide infection or cirrhosis .Compared to other cancers, HCC is quite a rare tumor in the United States...

 (23%) and morbid obesity (8%), among other conditions.

Appearance

Mallory bodies are highly eosinophilic

Eosinophilic

Eosinophilic refers to the staining of certain tissues, cells, or organelles after they have been washed with eosin, a dye.Eosin is an acidic dye; thus, the structure being stained is basic....

 and thus appear pink on H&E stain

H&E stain

H&E stain, HE stain or hematoxylin and eosin stain is a popular staining method in histology. It is the most widely used stain in medical diagnosis; for example when a pathologist looks at a biopsy of a suspected cancer, the histological section is likely to be stained with H&E and termed H&E...

. The bodies themselves are made up of intermediate keratin

Keratin

Keratin refers to a family of fibrous structural proteins. Keratin is the key of structural material making up the outer layer of human skin. It is also the key structural component of hair and nails...

 filament proteins that have been ubiquinated

Ubiquitin

Ubiquitin is a small regulatory protein that has been found in almost all tissues of eukaryotic organisms. Among other functions, it directs protein recycling.Ubiquitin can be attached to proteins and label them for destruction...

, or bound by other proteins such as heat shock protein

Heat shock protein

Heat shock proteins are a class of functionally related proteins involved in the folding and unfolding of other proteins. Their expression is increased when cells are exposed to elevated temperatures or other stress. This increase in expression is transcriptionally regulated...

s, or p62.