Ballooning hepatocyte degeneration 2020-10-10T15:47:08Z Ballooning degeneration of hepatocytes Swelling of the hepatocyte, rounding of its contour, and alteration of the cytoplasm, which takes on a reticulated, rarefied, or flocculant quality. The cytoplasm of the ballooned hepatocytes often contains clumps of eosinophilic ropey material known as Mallory-Denk bodies (MDBs) or Mallory hyaline, which is composed of hyperphosphorylated misfolded intermediate filaments, ubiquitin, and ubiquitin-binding protein P62. Mallory-Denk bodies are inclusions found within the cytoplasm of ballooned hepatocytes that are composed of cytokeratin filaments, they have a twisted-rope appearance. Abnormal hepatocyte morphology