Unraveling the complexities of fibrosis and ductular reaction in liver disease: pathogenesis, mechanisms, and therapeutic insights.

Am J Physiol Cell Physiol

Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States.

Published: March 2024

Ductular reaction and fibrosis are hallmarks of many liver diseases including primary sclerosing cholangitis, primary biliary cholangitis, biliary atresia, alcoholic liver disease, and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease/metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis. Liver fibrosis is the accumulation of extracellular matrix often caused by excess collagen deposition by myofibroblasts. Ductular reaction is the proliferation of bile ducts (which are composed of cholangiocytes) during liver injury. Many other cells including hepatic stellate cells, hepatocytes, hepatic progenitor cells, mesenchymal stem cells, and immune cells contribute to ductular reaction and fibrosis by either directly or indirectly interacting with myofibroblasts and cholangiocytes. This review summarizes the recent findings in cellular links between ductular reaction and fibrosis in numerous liver diseases.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11193454PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1152/ajpcell.00486.2023DOI Listing

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