Infected patients show extensive destruction of liver tissue, with steatosis of a particular type (microsteatosis, characterized by small fat droplets inside the cells), and infiltration of large numbers of inflammatory cells called morula cells, comprised mainly by macrophages containing delta virus antigens.

At 48 hours, small lipid droplets had accumulated in the cell bodies, and at 100 hours, hepatocytes in the hepatic lobules were destroyed beyond function.

Lipid droplet growth can consequently happen through direct diffusion of fatty acids, endocytosis of sterols or by fusion of smaller lipid droplets through the aid of SNARE proteins.

Upon adipogenesis induction of either 3T3-L1 adipospheres or adipospheres derived from SVF, the cells efficiently formed large lipid droplets typical of white adipocytes in vivo, whereas only smaller lipid droplet formation is achievable in 2D.